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Aoki-Utsubo C, Kameoka M, Deng L, Hanafi M, Dewi BE, Sudarmono P, Wakita T, Hotta H. Statins enhance extracellular release of hepatitis C virus particles through ERK5 activation. Microbiol Immunol 2024; 68:359-370. [PMID: 39073705 DOI: 10.1111/1348-0421.13166] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/29/2024] [Revised: 06/13/2024] [Accepted: 07/09/2024] [Indexed: 07/30/2024]
Abstract
Statins, such as lovastatin, have been known to inhibit 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase. Statins were reported to moderately suppress hepatitis C virus (HCV) replication in cultured cells harboring HCV RNA replicons. We report here using an HCV cell culture (HCVcc) system that high concentrations of lovastatin (5-20 μg/mL) markedly enhanced the release of HCV infectious particles (virion) in the culture supernatants by up to 40 times, without enhancing HCV RNA replication, HCV protein synthesis, or HCV virion assembly in the cells. We also found that lovastatin increased the phosphorylation (activation) level of extracellular-signal-regulated kinase 5 (ERK5) in both the infected and uninfected cells in a dose-dependent manner. The lovastatin-mediated increase of HCV virion release was partially reversed by selective ERK5 inhibitors, BIX02189 and XMD8-92, or by ERK5 knockdown using small interfering RNA (siRNA). Moreover, we demonstrated that other cholesterol-lowering statins, but not dehydrolovastatin that is incapable of inhibiting HMG-CoA reductase and activating ERK5, enhanced HCV virion release to the same extent as observed with lovastatin. These results collectively suggest that statins markedly enhance HCV virion release from infected cells through HMG-CoA reductase inhibition and ERK5 activation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chie Aoki-Utsubo
- Department of Public Health, Graduate School of Health Sciences, Kobe University, Kobe, Japan
| | - Masanori Kameoka
- Department of Public Health, Graduate School of Health Sciences, Kobe University, Kobe, Japan
| | - Lin Deng
- Division of Infectious Disease Control, Graduate School of Medicine, Kobe University, Kobe, Japan
| | - Muhammad Hanafi
- Research Center for Chemistry, National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), Serpong, Indonesia
| | - Beti Ernawati Dewi
- Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Indonesia, Jakarta, Indonesia
| | - Pratiwi Sudarmono
- Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Indonesia, Jakarta, Indonesia
| | - Takaji Wakita
- National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Hak Hotta
- Department of Public Health, Graduate School of Health Sciences, Kobe University, Kobe, Japan
- Faculty of Clinical Nutrition and Dietetics, Konan Women's University, Kobe, Japan
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2
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Sepúlveda-Crespo D, Volpi C, Amigot-Sánchez R, Yélamos MB, Díez C, Gómez J, Hontañón V, Berenguer J, González-García J, Martín-Escolano R, Resino S, Martínez I. Sustained Long-Term Decline in Anti-HCV Neutralizing Antibodies in HIV/HCV-Coinfected Patients Five Years after HCV Therapy: A Retrospective Study. Pharmaceuticals (Basel) 2024; 17:1152. [PMID: 39338314 PMCID: PMC11434851 DOI: 10.3390/ph17091152] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2024] [Revised: 08/27/2024] [Accepted: 08/29/2024] [Indexed: 09/30/2024] Open
Abstract
Background: This study evaluated titers and amplitudes of anti-E2 antibodies (anti-E2-Abs) and neutralizing antibodies against hepatitis C virus (HCV; anti-HCV-nAbs) in HIV/HCV-coinfected individuals over five years after successful HCV treatment completion. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 76 HIV/HCV-coinfected patients achieving sustained virologic response post-HCV treatment. Plasma levels of anti-E2-Abs and anti-HCV-nAbs against five HCV genotypes (Gt1a, Gt1b, Gt2a, Gt3a, and Gt4a) were determined using ELISA and microneutralization assays, respectively. Statistical analyses comparing the three follow-up time points (baseline, one year, and five years post-HCV treatment) were performed using generalized linear mixed models, adjusting p-values with the false discovery rate (q-value). Results: Compared to baseline, anti-E2-Abs titers decreased at one year (1.9- to 2.3-fold, q-value < 0.001) and five years (3.4- to 9.1-fold, q-value < 0.001) post-HCV treatment. Anti-HCV-nAbs decreased 2.9- to 8.4-fold (q-value < 0.002) at one year and 17.8- to 90.4-fold (q-value < 0.001) at five years post-HCV treatment. Anti-HCV-nAbs titers against Gt3a were consistently the lowest. Nonresponse rates for anti-E2-Abs remained low throughout the follow-up, while anti-HCV-nAbs nonresponse rates increased 1.8- to 13.5-fold (q-value < 0.05) at five years post-HCV treatment, with Gt3a showing the highest nonresponse rate. Conclusions: Humoral immune responses against HCV decreased consistently one and five years post-HCV treatment, regardless of HCV genotype and previous HCV therapy or type of treatment (IFN- or DAA-based therapy). This decline was more pronounced for anti-HCV-nAbs, particularly against Gt3.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Sepúlveda-Crespo
- Unidad de Infección Viral e Inmunidad, Centro Nacional de Microbiología, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Carretera Majadahonda-Pozuelo, Km 2.2, 28220 Majadahonda (Madrid), Spain
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red en Enfermedades Infecciosas (CIBERINFEC), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Av. Monforte de Lemos, 3-5, 28029 Madrid, Spain
| | - Camilla Volpi
- Unidad de Infección Viral e Inmunidad, Centro Nacional de Microbiología, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Carretera Majadahonda-Pozuelo, Km 2.2, 28220 Majadahonda (Madrid), Spain
- Dipartimento di Scienze Farmacologiche e Biomolecolari, Università degli Studi di Milano, Via Giuseppe Balzaretti, 9, 20133 Milan, Italy
| | - Rafael Amigot-Sánchez
- Unidad de Infección Viral e Inmunidad, Centro Nacional de Microbiología, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Carretera Majadahonda-Pozuelo, Km 2.2, 28220 Majadahonda (Madrid), Spain
| | - María Belén Yélamos
- Departamento de Bioquímica y Biología Molecular, Facultad de Ciencias Químicas, Universidad Complutense, Pl de las Ciencias, 2, 28040 Madrid, Spain
| | - Cristina Díez
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red en Enfermedades Infecciosas (CIBERINFEC), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Av. Monforte de Lemos, 3-5, 28029 Madrid, Spain
- Unidad de Enfermedades Infecciosas/VIH, Hospital General Universitario Gregorio Marañón, C del Dr. Esquerdo, 46, 28007 Madrid, Spain
- Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria del Gregorio Marañón, C del Dr. Esquerdo, 46, 28007 Madrid, Spain
| | - Julián Gómez
- Departamento de Bioquímica y Biología Molecular, Facultad de Ciencias Químicas, Universidad Complutense, Pl de las Ciencias, 2, 28040 Madrid, Spain
| | - Víctor Hontañón
- Unidad de VIH, Servicio de Medicina Interna, Hospital Universitario La Paz, Paseo de la Castellana, 261, 28046 Madrid, Spain
- Instituto de Investigación Hospital Universitario La Paz, Paseo de la Castellana, 261, 28046 Madrid, Spain
| | - Juan Berenguer
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red en Enfermedades Infecciosas (CIBERINFEC), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Av. Monforte de Lemos, 3-5, 28029 Madrid, Spain
- Unidad de Enfermedades Infecciosas/VIH, Hospital General Universitario Gregorio Marañón, C del Dr. Esquerdo, 46, 28007 Madrid, Spain
- Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria del Gregorio Marañón, C del Dr. Esquerdo, 46, 28007 Madrid, Spain
| | - Juan González-García
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red en Enfermedades Infecciosas (CIBERINFEC), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Av. Monforte de Lemos, 3-5, 28029 Madrid, Spain
- Unidad de VIH, Servicio de Medicina Interna, Hospital Universitario La Paz, Paseo de la Castellana, 261, 28046 Madrid, Spain
- Instituto de Investigación Hospital Universitario La Paz, Paseo de la Castellana, 261, 28046 Madrid, Spain
| | - Rubén Martín-Escolano
- Unidad de Infección Viral e Inmunidad, Centro Nacional de Microbiología, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Carretera Majadahonda-Pozuelo, Km 2.2, 28220 Majadahonda (Madrid), Spain
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red en Enfermedades Infecciosas (CIBERINFEC), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Av. Monforte de Lemos, 3-5, 28029 Madrid, Spain
| | - Salvador Resino
- Unidad de Infección Viral e Inmunidad, Centro Nacional de Microbiología, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Carretera Majadahonda-Pozuelo, Km 2.2, 28220 Majadahonda (Madrid), Spain
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red en Enfermedades Infecciosas (CIBERINFEC), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Av. Monforte de Lemos, 3-5, 28029 Madrid, Spain
| | - Isidoro Martínez
- Unidad de Infección Viral e Inmunidad, Centro Nacional de Microbiología, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Carretera Majadahonda-Pozuelo, Km 2.2, 28220 Majadahonda (Madrid), Spain
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red en Enfermedades Infecciosas (CIBERINFEC), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Av. Monforte de Lemos, 3-5, 28029 Madrid, Spain
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3
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Law JL, Drummer HE. Bridging the gap: A new tool to down select HCV vaccine candidates. Hepatology 2024:01515467-990000000-00934. [PMID: 38935861 DOI: 10.1097/hep.0000000000000948] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2024] [Accepted: 05/20/2024] [Indexed: 06/29/2024]
Affiliation(s)
- John Lokman Law
- Division of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada
| | - Heidi E Drummer
- Viral Entry and Vaccines Group, Burnet Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
- Department of Microbiology, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia
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4
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Collignon L, Holmbeck K, Just A, Verhoye L, Velázquez-Moctezuma R, Fahnøe U, Carlsen THR, Law M, Prentoe J, Scheel TKH, Gottwein JM, Meuleman P, Bukh J. JFH1-based Core-NS2 genotype variants of HCV with genetic stability in vivo and in vitro: Important tools in the evaluation of virus neutralization. Hepatology 2024:01515467-990000000-00854. [PMID: 38652584 DOI: 10.1097/hep.0000000000000897] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2023] [Accepted: 03/27/2024] [Indexed: 04/25/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND AIMS HCV infection continues to be a major global health burden despite effective antiviral treatments. The urgent need for a protective vaccine is hindered by the scarcity of suitable HCV-permissive animal models tractable in vaccination and challenge studies. Currently, only antibody neutralization studies in infectious cell culture systems or studies of protection by passive immunization of human liver chimeric mice offer the possibility to evaluate the effect of vaccine-induced antibodies. However, differences between culture-permissive and in vivo-permissive viruses make it a challenge to compare analyses between platforms. To address this problem, we aimed at developing genotype-specific virus variants with genetic stability both in vitro and in vivo. APPROACH AND RESULTS We demonstrated infection of human liver chimeric mice with cell culture-adapted HCV JFH1-based Core-NS2 recombinants of genotype 1-6, with a panel of 10 virus strains used extensively in neutralization and receptor studies. Clonal re-engineering of mouse-selected mutations resulted in virus variants with robust replication both in Huh7.5 cells and human liver chimeric mice, with genetic stability. Furthermore, we showed that, overall, these virus variants have similar in vitro neutralization profiles as their parent strains and demonstrated their use for in vivo neutralization studies. CONCLUSIONS These mouse-selected HCV recombinants enable the triage of new vaccine-relevant antibodies in vitro and further allow characterization of protection from infection in vivo using identical viruses in human liver chimeric mice. As such, these viruses will serve as important resources in testing novel antibodies and can thus guide strategies to develop an efficient protective vaccine against HCV infection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura Collignon
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Copenhagen University Hospital, Hvidovre, Denmark
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
- Laboratory of Liver Infectious Diseases, Department of Diagnostic Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Ghent University, Belgium
| | - Kenn Holmbeck
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Copenhagen University Hospital, Hvidovre, Denmark
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Ashley Just
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Copenhagen University Hospital, Hvidovre, Denmark
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Lieven Verhoye
- Laboratory of Liver Infectious Diseases, Department of Diagnostic Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Ghent University, Belgium
| | - Rodrigo Velázquez-Moctezuma
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Copenhagen University Hospital, Hvidovre, Denmark
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Ulrik Fahnøe
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Copenhagen University Hospital, Hvidovre, Denmark
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Thomas H R Carlsen
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Copenhagen University Hospital, Hvidovre, Denmark
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Mansun Law
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, California, USA
| | - Jannick Prentoe
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Copenhagen University Hospital, Hvidovre, Denmark
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Troels K H Scheel
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Copenhagen University Hospital, Hvidovre, Denmark
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Judith M Gottwein
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Copenhagen University Hospital, Hvidovre, Denmark
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Philip Meuleman
- Laboratory of Liver Infectious Diseases, Department of Diagnostic Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Ghent University, Belgium
| | - Jens Bukh
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Copenhagen University Hospital, Hvidovre, Denmark
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
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5
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Frericks N, Brown RJP, Reinecke BM, Herrmann M, Brüggemann Y, Todt D, Miskey C, Vondran FWR, Steinmann E, Pietschmann T, Sheldon J. Unraveling the dynamics of hepatitis C virus adaptive mutations and their impact on antiviral responses in primary human hepatocytes. J Virol 2024; 98:e0192123. [PMID: 38319104 PMCID: PMC10949430 DOI: 10.1128/jvi.01921-23] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/07/2023] [Accepted: 01/12/2024] [Indexed: 02/07/2024] Open
Abstract
Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection progresses to chronicity in the majority of infected individuals. Its high intra-host genetic variability enables HCV to evade the continuous selection pressure exerted by the host, contributing to persistent infection. Utilizing a cell culture-adapted HCV population (p100pop) which exhibits increased replicative capacity in various liver cell lines, this study investigated virus and host determinants that underlie enhanced viral fitness. Characterization of a panel of molecular p100 clones revealed that cell culture adaptive mutations optimize a range of virus-host interactions, resulting in expanded cell tropism, altered dependence on the cellular co-factor micro-RNA 122 and increased rates of virus spread. On the host side, comparative transcriptional profiling of hepatoma cells infected either with p100pop or its progenitor virus revealed that enhanced replicative fitness correlated with activation of endoplasmic reticulum stress signaling and the unfolded protein response. In contrast, infection of primary human hepatocytes with p100pop led to a mild attenuation of virion production which correlated with a greater induction of cell-intrinsic antiviral defense responses. In summary, long-term passage experiments in cells where selective pressure from innate immunity is lacking improves multiple virus-host interactions, enhancing HCV replicative fitness. However, this study further indicates that HCV has evolved to replicate at low levels in primary human hepatocytes to minimize innate immune activation, highlighting that an optimal balance between replicative fitness and innate immune induction is key to establish persistence. IMPORTANCE Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection remains a global health burden with 58 million people currently chronically infected. However, the detailed molecular mechanisms that underly persistence are incompletely defined. We utilized a long-term cell culture-adapted HCV, exhibiting enhanced replicative fitness in different human liver cell lines, in order to identify molecular principles by which HCV optimizes its replication fitness. Our experimental data revealed that cell culture adaptive mutations confer changes in the host response and usage of various host factors. The latter allows functional flexibility at different stages of the viral replication cycle. However, increased replicative fitness resulted in an increased activation of the innate immune system, which likely poses boundary for functional variation in authentic hepatocytes, explaining the observed attenuation of the adapted virus population in primary hepatocytes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicola Frericks
- Institute for Experimental Virology, TWINCORE, Hannover, Germany
- Department for Molecular and Medical Virology, Ruhr-University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
| | - Richard J. P. Brown
- Department for Molecular and Medical Virology, Ruhr-University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
- Division of Veterinary Medicine, Paul Ehrlich Institute, Langen, Germany
| | | | - Maike Herrmann
- Division of Veterinary Medicine, Paul Ehrlich Institute, Langen, Germany
| | - Yannick Brüggemann
- Department for Molecular and Medical Virology, Ruhr-University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
| | - Daniel Todt
- Department for Molecular and Medical Virology, Ruhr-University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
- European Virus Bioinformatics Center (EVBC), Jena, Germany
| | - Csaba Miskey
- Division of Medical Biotechnology, Paul Ehrlich Institute, Langen, Germany
| | - Florian W. R. Vondran
- Department for General, Visceral and Transplant Surgery, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
- Clinic for General, Visceral and Transplant Surgery, University Hospital RWTH Aachen, Aachen, Germany
- German Center for Infection Research (DZIF), Partner Site Hannover-Braunschweig, Hannover, Germany
| | - Eike Steinmann
- Department for Molecular and Medical Virology, Ruhr-University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
| | - Thomas Pietschmann
- Institute for Experimental Virology, TWINCORE, Hannover, Germany
- German Center for Infection Research (DZIF), Partner Site Hannover-Braunschweig, Hannover, Germany
- Cluster of Excellence RESIST (EXC 2155), Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
| | - Julie Sheldon
- Institute for Experimental Virology, TWINCORE, Hannover, Germany
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6
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Frericks N, Brown RJP, Reinecke BM, Herrmann M, Brüggemann Y, Todt D, Miskey C, Vondran FWR, Steinmann E, Pietschmann T, Sheldon J. Hepatitis C virus cell culture adaptive mutations enhance cell culture propagation by multiple mechanisms but boost antiviral responses in primary human hepatocytes. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.11.22.568224. [PMID: 38045248 PMCID: PMC10690267 DOI: 10.1101/2023.11.22.568224] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/05/2023]
Abstract
Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection progresses to chronicity in the majority of infected individuals. Its high intra-host genetic variability enables HCV to evade the continuous selection pressure exerted by the host, contributing to persistent infection. Utilizing a cell culture adapted HCV population (p100pop) which exhibits increased replicative capacity in various liver cell lines, this study investigated virus and host determinants which underlie enhanced viral fitness. Characterization of a panel of molecular p100 clones revealed that cell culture adaptive mutations optimize a range of virus-host interactions, resulting in expanded cell tropism, altered dependence on the cellular co-factor micro-RNA 122 and increased rates of virus spread. On the host side, comparative transcriptional profiling of hepatoma cells infected either with p100pop or its progenitor virus revealed that enhanced replicative fitness correlated with activation of endoplasmic reticulum stress signaling and the unfolded protein response. In contrast, infection of primary human hepatocytes with p100pop led to a mild attenuation of virion production which correlated with a greater induction of cell-intrinsic antiviral defense responses. In summary, long-term passage experiments in cells where selective pressure from innate immunity is lacking improves multiple virus-host interactions, enhancing HCV replicative fitness. However, this study further indicates that HCV has evolved to replicate at low levels in primary human hepatocytes to minimize innate immune activation, highlighting that an optimal balance between replicative fitness and innate immune induction is key to establishing persistence. Author Summary HCV infection remains a global health burden with 58 million people currently chronically infected. However, the detailed molecular mechanisms which underly persistence are incompletely defined. We utilized a long-term cell culture adapted HCV, exhibiting enhanced replicative fitness in different human liver cell lines, in order to identify molecular principles by which HCV optimizes its replication fitness. Our experimental data revealed that cell culture adaptive mutations confer changes in the host response and usage of various host factors. The latter allows functional flexibility at different stages of the viral replication cycle. However, increased replicative fitness resulted in an increased activation of the innate immune system, which likely poses boundary for functional variation in authentic hepatocytes, explaining the observed attenuation of the adapted virus population in primary hepatocytes.
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7
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Carriquí-Madroñal B, Lasswitz L, von Hahn T, Gerold G. Genetic and pharmacological perturbation of hepatitis-C virus entry. Curr Opin Virol 2023; 62:101362. [PMID: 37678113 DOI: 10.1016/j.coviro.2023.101362] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/2022] [Revised: 06/30/2023] [Accepted: 08/08/2023] [Indexed: 09/09/2023]
Abstract
Hepatitis-C virus (HCV) chronically infects 58 million individuals worldwide with variable disease outcome. While a subfraction of individuals exposed to the virus clear the infection, the majority develop chronic infection if untreated. Another subfraction of chronically ill proceeds to severe liver disease. The underlying causes of this interindividual variability include genetic polymorphisms in interferon genes. Here, we review available data on the influence of genetic or pharmacological perturbation of HCV host dependency factors on the clinically observed interindividual differences in disease outcome. We focus on host factors mediating virus entry into human liver cells. We assess available data on genetic variants of the major entry factors scavenger receptor class-B type I, CD81, claudin-1, and occludin as well as pharmacological perturbation of these entry factors. We review cell culture experimental and clinical cohort study data and conclude that entry factor perturbation may contribute to disease outcome of hepatitis C.
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Affiliation(s)
- Belén Carriquí-Madroñal
- Department of Biochemistry & Research Center for Emerging Infections and Zoonoses (RIZ), University of Veterinary Medicine Hanover, Hanover, Germany; Institute for Experimental Virology, TWINCORE, Centre for Experimental and Clinical Infection Research, a joint venture between the Medical School Hannover and the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research, Hanover, Germany
| | - Lisa Lasswitz
- Department of Biochemistry & Research Center for Emerging Infections and Zoonoses (RIZ), University of Veterinary Medicine Hanover, Hanover, Germany; Institute for Experimental Virology, TWINCORE, Centre for Experimental and Clinical Infection Research, a joint venture between the Medical School Hannover and the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research, Hanover, Germany
| | - Thomas von Hahn
- Department of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Endocrinology, Hannover Medical School, 30625 Hannover, Germany; Department of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Interventional Endoscopy, Asklepios Hospital Barmbek, Semmelweis University, Campus Hamburg, 22307 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Gisa Gerold
- Department of Biochemistry & Research Center for Emerging Infections and Zoonoses (RIZ), University of Veterinary Medicine Hanover, Hanover, Germany; Institute for Experimental Virology, TWINCORE, Centre for Experimental and Clinical Infection Research, a joint venture between the Medical School Hannover and the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research, Hanover, Germany; Wallenberg Centre for Molecular Medicine (WCMM), Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden; Department of Clinical Microbiology, Virology, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden.
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8
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Liang TJ, Law JLM, Pietschmann T, Ray SC, Bukh J, Bull R, Chung RT, Tyrrell DL, Houghton M, Rice CM. Challenge Inoculum for Hepatitis C Virus Controlled Human Infection Model. Clin Infect Dis 2023; 77:S257-S261. [PMID: 37579208 PMCID: PMC10681659 DOI: 10.1093/cid/ciad336] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/23/2023] [Indexed: 08/16/2023] Open
Abstract
For any controlled human infection model (CHIM), a safe, standardized, and biologically relevant challenge inoculum is necessary. For hepatitis C virus (HCV) CHIM, we propose that human-derived high-titer inocula of several viral genotypes with extensive virologic, serologic, and molecular characterizations should be the most appropriate approach. These inocula should first be tested in human volunteers in a step-wise manner to ensure safety, reproducibility, and curability prior to using them for testing the efficacy of candidate vaccines.
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Affiliation(s)
- T Jake Liang
- Liver Diseases Branch, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
| | - John L M Law
- Li Ka Shing Institute of Virology, Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada
| | - Thomas Pietschmann
- Institute for Experimental Virology, TWINCORE, Centre for Experimental and Clinical Infection Research, Hannover, Germany
| | - Stuart C Ray
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Jens Bukh
- Copenhagen Hepatitis C Program (CO-HEP), Department of Infectious Diseases, Copenhagen University Hospital; Hvidovre and Department of Immunology and Microbiology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Rowena Bull
- Liver Center, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Raymond T Chung
- School of Biomedical Sciences and The Kirby Institute, Medicine and Health, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
| | - D Lorne Tyrrell
- Li Ka Shing Institute of Virology, Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada
| | - Michael Houghton
- Li Ka Shing Institute of Virology, Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada
| | - Charles M Rice
- Laboratory of Virology and Infectious Disease, The Rockefeller University, New York, New York, USA
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9
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Vidal-Alcántara EJ, Mas V, Yélamos MB, Gómez J, Amigot-Sánchez R, Resino S, Martinez I. Production and characterization of monoclonal antibodies for the detection of the hepatitis C core antigen. Front Mol Biosci 2023; 10:1225553. [PMID: 37520323 PMCID: PMC10374198 DOI: 10.3389/fmolb.2023.1225553] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2023] [Accepted: 07/04/2023] [Indexed: 08/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Background: Despite highly effective treatments to cure hepatitis C, almost 80% of chronically HCV-infected people are not treated, as they are unaware of their infection. Diagnostic rates and linkage to care must be substantially improved to reverse this situation. The HCV core antigen (HCVcAg) is a highly conserved protein that can be detected in the blood of HCV-infected patients and indicates active infection. Aim: To produce murine monoclonal antibodies against HCVcAg suitable for rapid and inexpensive tests to detect HCV infection. Methods: BALB/c mice were sequentially inoculated with purified recombinant HCVcAg from Gt1a, Gt3a, Gt4a, and Gt1b genotypes. Hybridomas producing the desired monoclonal antibodies were selected, and the reactivity of antibodies against HCVcAg from various genotypes was tested by Western blotting and dot blotting. The binding kinetics of the antibodies to purified HCVcAg was analyzed by surface plasmon resonance (SPR), and their ability to detect HCVcAg was tested by double antibody sandwich ELISA (DAS-ELISA). Results: Four specific monoclonal antibodies (1C, 2C, 4C, and 8C) were obtained. 1C, 2C, and 4C recognized HCVcAg of all genotypes tested (Gt1a, Gt1b, Gt2a, Gt3a, and Gt4a), while 8C did not recognize the Gt2a and Gt3a genotypes. Based on SPR data, the antibody-HCVcAg complexes formed are stable, with 2C having the strongest binding properties. DAS-ELISA with different antibody combinations easily detected HCVcAg in culture supernatants from HCV-infected cells. Conclusion: Specific and cross-reactive anti-HCVcAg monoclonal antibodies with strong binding properties were obtained that may be useful for detecting HCVcAg in HCV-infected samples.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erick Joan Vidal-Alcántara
- Unidad de Infección Viral e Inmunidad, Centro Nacional de Microbiología, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain
| | - Vicente Mas
- Unidad de Biología Viral, Centro Nacional de Microbiología, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain
| | - María Belén Yélamos
- Departamento de Bioquímica y Biología Molecular, Facultad de Ciencias Químicas, Universidad Complutense, Madrid, Spain
| | - Julián Gómez
- Departamento de Bioquímica y Biología Molecular, Facultad de Ciencias Químicas, Universidad Complutense, Madrid, Spain
| | - Rafael Amigot-Sánchez
- Unidad de Infección Viral e Inmunidad, Centro Nacional de Microbiología, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain
| | - Salvador Resino
- Unidad de Infección Viral e Inmunidad, Centro Nacional de Microbiología, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red en Enfermedades Infecciosas (CIBERINFEC), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain
| | - Isidoro Martinez
- Unidad de Infección Viral e Inmunidad, Centro Nacional de Microbiología, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red en Enfermedades Infecciosas (CIBERINFEC), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain
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10
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Bailly C, Thuru X. Targeting of Tetraspanin CD81 with Monoclonal Antibodies and Small Molecules to Combat Cancers and Viral Diseases. Cancers (Basel) 2023; 15:cancers15072186. [PMID: 37046846 PMCID: PMC10093296 DOI: 10.3390/cancers15072186] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2023] [Revised: 04/04/2023] [Accepted: 04/04/2023] [Indexed: 04/14/2023] Open
Abstract
Tetraspanin CD81 plays major roles in cell-cell interactions and the regulation of cellular trafficking. This cholesterol-embarking transmembrane protein is a co-receptor for several viruses, including HCV, HIV-1 and Chikungunya virus, which exploits the large extracellular loop EC2 for cell entry. CD81 is also an anticancer target implicated in cancer cell proliferation and mobility, and in tumor metastasis. CD81 signaling contributes to the development of solid tumors (notably colorectal, liver and gastric cancers) and has been implicated in the aggressivity of B-cell lymphomas. A variety of protein partners can interact with CD81, either to regulate attachment and uptake of viruses (HCV E2, claudin-1, IFIM1) or to contribute to tumor growth and dissemination (CD19, CD44, EWI-2). CD81-protein interactions can be modulated with molecules targeting the extracellular domain of CD81, investigated as antiviral and/or anticancer agents. Several monoclonal antibodies anti-CD81 have been developed, notably mAb 5A6 active against invasion and metastasis of triple-negative breast cancer cells. CD81-EC2 can also be targeted with natural products (trachelogenin and harzianoic acids A-B) and synthetic compounds (such as benzothiazole-quinoline derivatives). They are weak CD81 binders but offer templates for the design of new compounds targeting the open EC2 loop. There is no anti-CD81 compound in clinical development at present, but this structurally well-characterized tetraspanin warrants more substantial considerations as a drug target.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christian Bailly
- OncoWitan, Scientific Consulting Office, F-59290 Lille, France
- Institut de Chimie Pharmaceutique Albert Lespagnol (ICPAL), Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Lille, F-59006 Lille, France
- CNRS, Inserm, CHU Lille, UMR9020-U1277-Canther-Cancer Heterogeneity Plasticity and Resistance to Therapies, OncoLille Institut, University of Lille, F-59000 Lille, France
| | - Xavier Thuru
- CNRS, Inserm, CHU Lille, UMR9020-U1277-Canther-Cancer Heterogeneity Plasticity and Resistance to Therapies, OncoLille Institut, University of Lille, F-59000 Lille, France
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11
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Alzua GP, Pihl AF, Offersgaard A, Velázquez-Moctezuma R, Duarte Hernandez CR, Augestad EH, Fahnøe U, Mathiesen CK, Krarup H, Law M, Prentoe J, Bukh J, Gottwein JM. Identification of novel neutralizing determinants for protection against HCV. Hepatology 2023; 77:982-996. [PMID: 36056620 PMCID: PMC9936975 DOI: 10.1002/hep.32772] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/06/2022] [Revised: 08/18/2022] [Accepted: 08/30/2022] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND AIMS HCV evasion of neutralizing antibodies (nAb) results in viral persistence and poses challenges to the development of an urgently needed vaccine. N-linked glycosylation of viral envelope proteins is a key mechanism for such evasion. To facilitate rational vaccine design, we aimed to identify determinants of protection of conserved neutralizing epitopes. APPROACH AND RESULTS Using a reverse evolutionary approach, we passaged genotype 1a, 1b, 2a, 3a, and 4a HCV with envelope proteins (E1 and E2) derived from chronically infected patients without selective pressure by nAb in cell culture. Compared with the original viruses, HCV recombinants, engineered to harbor substitutions identified in polyclonal cell culture-passaged viruses, showed highly increased fitness and exposure of conserved neutralizing epitopes in antigenic regions 3 and 4, associated with protection from chronic infection. Further reverse genetic studies of acquired E1/E2 substitutions identified positions 418 and 532 in the N1 and N6 glycosylation motifs, localizing to adjacent E2 areas, as key regulators of changes of the E1/E2 conformational state, which governed viral sensitivity to nAb. These effects were independent of predicted glycan occupancy. CONCLUSIONS We show how N-linked glycosylation motifs can trigger dramatic changes in HCV sensitivity to nAb, independent of glycan occupancy. These findings aid in the understanding of HCV nAb evasion and rational vaccine design, as they can be exploited to stabilize the structurally flexible envelope proteins in an open conformation, exposing important neutralizing epitopes. Finally, this work resulted in a panel of highly fit cell culture infectious HCV recombinants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Garazi P Alzua
- Copenhagen Hepatitis C Program (CO-HEP), Department of Infectious Diseases , Copenhagen University Hospital-Hvidovre , Hvidovre , Denmark.,Copenhagen Hepatitis C Program (CO-HEP), Department of Immunology and Microbiology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences , University of Copenhagen , Copenhagen , Denmark
| | - Anne F Pihl
- Copenhagen Hepatitis C Program (CO-HEP), Department of Infectious Diseases , Copenhagen University Hospital-Hvidovre , Hvidovre , Denmark.,Copenhagen Hepatitis C Program (CO-HEP), Department of Immunology and Microbiology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences , University of Copenhagen , Copenhagen , Denmark
| | - Anna Offersgaard
- Copenhagen Hepatitis C Program (CO-HEP), Department of Infectious Diseases , Copenhagen University Hospital-Hvidovre , Hvidovre , Denmark.,Copenhagen Hepatitis C Program (CO-HEP), Department of Immunology and Microbiology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences , University of Copenhagen , Copenhagen , Denmark
| | - Rodrigo Velázquez-Moctezuma
- Copenhagen Hepatitis C Program (CO-HEP), Department of Infectious Diseases , Copenhagen University Hospital-Hvidovre , Hvidovre , Denmark.,Copenhagen Hepatitis C Program (CO-HEP), Department of Immunology and Microbiology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences , University of Copenhagen , Copenhagen , Denmark
| | - Carlos R Duarte Hernandez
- Copenhagen Hepatitis C Program (CO-HEP), Department of Infectious Diseases , Copenhagen University Hospital-Hvidovre , Hvidovre , Denmark.,Copenhagen Hepatitis C Program (CO-HEP), Department of Immunology and Microbiology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences , University of Copenhagen , Copenhagen , Denmark
| | - Elias H Augestad
- Copenhagen Hepatitis C Program (CO-HEP), Department of Infectious Diseases , Copenhagen University Hospital-Hvidovre , Hvidovre , Denmark.,Copenhagen Hepatitis C Program (CO-HEP), Department of Immunology and Microbiology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences , University of Copenhagen , Copenhagen , Denmark
| | - Ulrik Fahnøe
- Copenhagen Hepatitis C Program (CO-HEP), Department of Infectious Diseases , Copenhagen University Hospital-Hvidovre , Hvidovre , Denmark.,Copenhagen Hepatitis C Program (CO-HEP), Department of Immunology and Microbiology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences , University of Copenhagen , Copenhagen , Denmark
| | - Christian K Mathiesen
- Copenhagen Hepatitis C Program (CO-HEP), Department of Infectious Diseases , Copenhagen University Hospital-Hvidovre , Hvidovre , Denmark.,Copenhagen Hepatitis C Program (CO-HEP), Department of Immunology and Microbiology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences , University of Copenhagen , Copenhagen , Denmark
| | - Henrik Krarup
- Department of Molecular Diagnostics , Aalborg University Hospital , Aalborg , Denmark.,Department of Clinical Medicine , Aalborg University , Aalborg , Denmark
| | - Mansun Law
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology , The Scripps Research Institute , La Jolla , California , USA
| | - Jannick Prentoe
- Copenhagen Hepatitis C Program (CO-HEP), Department of Infectious Diseases , Copenhagen University Hospital-Hvidovre , Hvidovre , Denmark.,Copenhagen Hepatitis C Program (CO-HEP), Department of Immunology and Microbiology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences , University of Copenhagen , Copenhagen , Denmark
| | - Jens Bukh
- Copenhagen Hepatitis C Program (CO-HEP), Department of Infectious Diseases , Copenhagen University Hospital-Hvidovre , Hvidovre , Denmark.,Copenhagen Hepatitis C Program (CO-HEP), Department of Immunology and Microbiology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences , University of Copenhagen , Copenhagen , Denmark
| | - Judith M Gottwein
- Copenhagen Hepatitis C Program (CO-HEP), Department of Infectious Diseases , Copenhagen University Hospital-Hvidovre , Hvidovre , Denmark.,Copenhagen Hepatitis C Program (CO-HEP), Department of Immunology and Microbiology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences , University of Copenhagen , Copenhagen , Denmark
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12
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Alzua GP, Pihl AF, Offersgaard A, Duarte Hernandez CR, Duan Z, Feng S, Fahnøe U, Sølund C, Weis N, Law M, Prentoe JC, Christensen JP, Bukh J, Gottwein JM. Inactivated genotype 1a, 2a and 3a HCV vaccine candidates induced broadly neutralising antibodies in mice. Gut 2023; 72:560-572. [PMID: 35918103 PMCID: PMC9933178 DOI: 10.1136/gutjnl-2021-326323] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2021] [Accepted: 07/13/2022] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE A prophylactic vaccine is needed to control the HCV epidemic, with genotypes 1-3 causing >80% of worldwide infections. Vaccine development is hampered by HCV heterogeneity, viral escape including protection of conserved neutralising epitopes and suboptimal efficacy of HCV cell culture systems. We developed cell culture-based inactivated genotype 1-3 HCV vaccine candidates to present natively folded envelope proteins to elicit neutralising antibodies. DESIGN High-yield genotype 1a, 2a and 3a HCV were developed by serial passage of TNcc, J6cc and DBN3acc in Huh7.5 cells and engineering of acquired mutations detected by next-generation sequencing. Neutralising epitope exposure was determined in cell-based neutralisation assays using human monoclonal antibodies AR3A and AR4A, and polyclonal antibody C211. BALB/c mice were immunised with processed and inactivated genotype 1a, 2a or 3a viruses using AddaVax, a homologue of the licenced adjuvant MF-59. Purified mouse and patient serum IgG were assayed for neutralisation capacity; mouse IgG and immune-sera were assayed for E1/E2 binding. RESULTS Compared with the original viruses, high-yield viruses had up to ~1000 fold increased infectivity titres (peak titres: 6-7 log10 focus-forming units (FFU)/mL) and up to ~2470 fold increased exposure of conserved neutralising epitopes. Vaccine-induced IgG broadly neutralised genotype 1-6 HCV (EC50: 30-193 µg/mL; mean 71 µg/mL), compared favourably with IgG from chronically infected patients, and bound genotype 1-3 E1/E2; immune-sera endpoint titres reached up to 32 000. CONCLUSION High-yield genotype 1-3 HCV could be developed as basis for inactivated vaccine candidates inducing broadly neutralising antibodies in mice supporting further preclinical development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Garazi Pena Alzua
- Copenhagen Hepatitis C Program (CO-HEP), Department of Infectious Diseases, Copenhagen University Hospital-Hvidovre, Hvidovre, Denmark and Department of Immunology and Microbiology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Anne Finne Pihl
- Copenhagen Hepatitis C Program (CO-HEP), Department of Infectious Diseases, Copenhagen University Hospital-Hvidovre, Hvidovre, Denmark and Department of Immunology and Microbiology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Anna Offersgaard
- Copenhagen Hepatitis C Program (CO-HEP), Department of Infectious Diseases, Copenhagen University Hospital-Hvidovre, Hvidovre, Denmark and Department of Immunology and Microbiology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Carlos Rene Duarte Hernandez
- Copenhagen Hepatitis C Program (CO-HEP), Department of Infectious Diseases, Copenhagen University Hospital-Hvidovre, Hvidovre, Denmark and Department of Immunology and Microbiology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Zhe Duan
- Copenhagen Hepatitis C Program (CO-HEP), Department of Infectious Diseases, Copenhagen University Hospital-Hvidovre, Hvidovre, Denmark and Department of Immunology and Microbiology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Shan Feng
- Copenhagen Hepatitis C Program (CO-HEP), Department of Infectious Diseases, Copenhagen University Hospital-Hvidovre, Hvidovre, Denmark and Department of Immunology and Microbiology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Ulrik Fahnøe
- Copenhagen Hepatitis C Program (CO-HEP), Department of Infectious Diseases, Copenhagen University Hospital-Hvidovre, Hvidovre, Denmark and Department of Immunology and Microbiology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Christina Sølund
- Copenhagen Hepatitis C Program (CO-HEP), Department of Infectious Diseases, Copenhagen University Hospital-Hvidovre, Hvidovre, Denmark and Department of Immunology and Microbiology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.,Department of Infectious Diseases, Copenhagen University Hospital-Hvidovre, Hvidovre, Denmark
| | - Nina Weis
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Copenhagen University Hospital-Hvidovre, Hvidovre, Denmark.,Department of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Mansun Law
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, California, USA
| | - Jannick C Prentoe
- Copenhagen Hepatitis C Program (CO-HEP), Department of Infectious Diseases, Copenhagen University Hospital-Hvidovre, Hvidovre, Denmark and Department of Immunology and Microbiology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Jan Pravsgaard Christensen
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Jens Bukh
- Copenhagen Hepatitis C Program (CO-HEP), Department of Infectious Diseases, Copenhagen University Hospital-Hvidovre, Hvidovre, Denmark and Department of Immunology and Microbiology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Judith Margarete Gottwein
- Copenhagen Hepatitis C Program (CO-HEP), Department of Infectious Diseases, Copenhagen University Hospital-Hvidovre, Hvidovre, Denmark and Department of Immunology and Microbiology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
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13
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Czarnota A, Offersgaard A, Owsianka A, Alzua GP, Bukh J, Gottwein JM, Patel AH, Bieńkowska-Szewczyk K, Grzyb K. Effect of Glycan Shift on Antibodies against Hepatitis C Virus E2 412-425 Epitope Elicited by Chimeric sHBsAg-Based Virus-Like Particles. Microbiol Spectr 2023; 11:e0254622. [PMID: 36719195 PMCID: PMC10100762 DOI: 10.1128/spectrum.02546-22] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/04/2022] [Accepted: 01/12/2023] [Indexed: 02/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Two of the most important mechanisms of hepatitis C virus (HCV) immune evasion are the high variability of the amino acid sequence and epitope shielding via heavy glycosylation of the envelope (E) proteins. Previously, we showed that chimeric sHBsAg (hepatitis B virus [HBV] small surface antigen)-based virus-like particles (VLPs) carrying highly conserved epitope I from the HCV E2 glycoprotein (sHBsAg_412-425) elicit broadly neutralizing antibodies (bnAbs). However, many reports have identified escape mutations for such bnAbs that shift the N-glycosylation site from N417 to N415. This shift effectively masks the recognition of epitope I by antibodies raised against the wild-type glycoprotein. To investigate if glycan-shift-mediated immune evasion could be overcome by targeted vaccination strategies, we designed sHBsAg-based VLPs carrying epitope I with an N417S change (sHBsAg_N417S). Studies in BALB/c mice revealed that both sHBsAg_412-425 and sHBsAg_N417S VLPs were immunogenic, eliciting antibodies that recognized peptides encompassing epitope I regardless of the N417S change. However, we observed substantial differences in E1E2 glycoprotein binding and cell culture-derived HCV (HCVcc) neutralization between the sera elicited by sHBsAg_412-425 and those elicited by sHBsAg_N417S VLPs. Our results suggest a complex interplay among antibodies targeting epitope I, the E1E2 glycosylation status, and the epitope or global E1E2 conformation. Additionally, we observed striking similarities in the E1E2 glycoprotein binding patterns and HCVcc neutralization between sHBsAg_412-425 sera and AP33, suggesting that the immunization of mice with sHBsAg_412-425 VLPs can elicit AP33-like antibodies. This study emphasizes the role of antibodies against epitope I and represents an initial effort toward designing an antigen that elicits an immune response against epitope I with a glycan shift change. IMPORTANCE Epitope I, located within amino acids 412 to 423 of the HCV E2 glycoprotein, is an important target for an epitope-based HCV vaccine. One interesting feature of epitope I is the N417 glycosylation site, where a single change to S417 or T417 can shift the glycosylation site to position N415. This shift can effectively prevent the binding of broadly neutralizing antibodies targeting epitope I. Aiming to overcome glycan-shift-mediated immune evasion, we constructed sHBsAg_N417S VLPs carrying E2 epitope I, with N417S, and compared them with VLPs carrying wild-type epitope I. We show that antibodies elicited by the sHBsAg-based VLPs presenting two variants of the 412-425 epitope targeted two distinct glycan variants of the HCV E1E2 heterodimer. Our study suggests that due to the conformational flexibility of the E2 glycoprotein and epitope I, future vaccine antigens should elicit antibodies targeting more than one conformation and glycosylation variant of the 412-423 epitope.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Czarnota
- Laboratory of Virus Molecular Biology, Intercollegiate Faculty of Biotechnology of the University of Gdańsk and Medical University of Gdańsk, Gdańsk, Poland
| | - Anna Offersgaard
- Copenhagen Hepatitis C Program (CO-HEP), Department of Infectious Diseases, Copenhagen University Hospital—Hvidovre, Hvidovre, Denmark
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Ania Owsianka
- MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research, Glasgow, United Kingdom
| | - Garazi Peña Alzua
- Copenhagen Hepatitis C Program (CO-HEP), Department of Infectious Diseases, Copenhagen University Hospital—Hvidovre, Hvidovre, Denmark
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Jens Bukh
- Copenhagen Hepatitis C Program (CO-HEP), Department of Infectious Diseases, Copenhagen University Hospital—Hvidovre, Hvidovre, Denmark
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Judith Margarete Gottwein
- Copenhagen Hepatitis C Program (CO-HEP), Department of Infectious Diseases, Copenhagen University Hospital—Hvidovre, Hvidovre, Denmark
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Arvind H. Patel
- MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research, Glasgow, United Kingdom
| | - Krystyna Bieńkowska-Szewczyk
- Laboratory of Virus Molecular Biology, Intercollegiate Faculty of Biotechnology of the University of Gdańsk and Medical University of Gdańsk, Gdańsk, Poland
| | - Katarzyna Grzyb
- Laboratory of Virus Molecular Biology, Intercollegiate Faculty of Biotechnology of the University of Gdańsk and Medical University of Gdańsk, Gdańsk, Poland
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14
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Mechanisms and Consequences of Genetic Variation in Hepatitis C Virus (HCV). Curr Top Microbiol Immunol 2023; 439:237-264. [PMID: 36592248 DOI: 10.1007/978-3-031-15640-3_7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Abstract
Chronic infection with hepatitis C virus (HCV) is an important contributor to the global incidence of liver diseases, including liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Although common for single-stranded RNA viruses, HCV displays a remarkable high level of genetic diversity, produced primarily by the error-prone viral polymerase and host immune pressure. The high genetic heterogeneity of HCV has led to the evolution of several distinct genotypes and subtypes, with important consequences for pathogenesis, and clinical outcomes. Genetic variability constitutes an evasion mechanism against immune suppression, allowing the virus to evolve epitope escape mutants that avoid immune recognition. Thus, heterogeneity and variability of the HCV genome represent a great hindrance for the development of vaccines against HCV. In addition, the high genetic plasticity of HCV allows the virus to rapidly develop antiviral resistance mutations, leading to treatment failure and potentially representing a major hindrance for the cure of chronic HCV patients. In this chapter, we will present the central role that genetic diversity has in the viral life cycle and epidemiology of HCV. Incorporation errors and recombination, both the result of HCV polymerase activity, represent the main mechanisms of HCV evolution. The molecular details of both mechanisms have been only partially clarified and will be presented in the following sections. Finally, we will discuss the major consequences of HCV genetic diversity, namely its capacity to rapidly evolve antiviral and immunological escape variants that represent an important limitation for clearance of acute HCV, for treatment of chronic hepatitis C and for broadly protective vaccines.
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15
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Pham LV, Velázquez-Moctezuma R, Fahnøe U, Collignon L, Bajpai P, Sølund C, Weis N, Holmbeck K, Prentoe J, Bukh J. Novel HCV Genotype 4d Infectious Systems and Assessment of Direct-Acting Antivirals and Antibody Neutralization. Viruses 2022; 14:2527. [PMID: 36423136 PMCID: PMC9698709 DOI: 10.3390/v14112527] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2022] [Revised: 11/05/2022] [Accepted: 11/08/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotype 4 is highly prevalent in the Middle East and parts of Africa. Subtype 4d has recently spread among high-risk groups in Europe. However, 4d infectious culture systems are not available, hampering studies of drugs, as well as neutralizing antibodies relevant for HCV vaccine development. We determined the consensus 4d sequence from a chronic hepatitis C patient by next-generation sequencing, generated a full-length clone thereof (pDH13), and demonstrated that pDH13 RNA-transcripts were viable in the human-liver chimeric mouse model, but not in Huh7.5 cells. However, a JFH1-based DH13 Core-NS5A 4d clone encoding A1671S, T1785V, and D2411G was viable in Huh7.5 cells, with efficient growth after inclusion of 10 additional substitutions [4d(C5A)-13m]. The efficacies of NS3/4A protease- and NS5A- inhibitors against genotypes 4a and 4d were similar, except for ledipasvir, which is less potent against 4d. Compared to 4a, the 4d(C5A)-13m virus was more sensitive to neutralizing monoclonal antibodies AR3A and AR5A, as well as 4a and 4d patient plasma antibodies. In conclusion, we developed the first genotype 4d infectious culture system enabling DAA efficacy testing and antibody neutralization assessment critical to optimization of DAA treatments in the clinic and for vaccine design to combat the HCV epidemic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Long V. Pham
- Copenhagen Hepatitis C Program (CO-HEP), Department of Infectious Diseases, Copenhagen University Hospital, Hvidovre and Department of Immunology and Microbiology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, DK-2200 Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Rodrigo Velázquez-Moctezuma
- Copenhagen Hepatitis C Program (CO-HEP), Department of Infectious Diseases, Copenhagen University Hospital, Hvidovre and Department of Immunology and Microbiology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, DK-2200 Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Ulrik Fahnøe
- Copenhagen Hepatitis C Program (CO-HEP), Department of Infectious Diseases, Copenhagen University Hospital, Hvidovre and Department of Immunology and Microbiology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, DK-2200 Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Laura Collignon
- Copenhagen Hepatitis C Program (CO-HEP), Department of Infectious Diseases, Copenhagen University Hospital, Hvidovre and Department of Immunology and Microbiology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, DK-2200 Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Priyanka Bajpai
- Copenhagen Hepatitis C Program (CO-HEP), Department of Infectious Diseases, Copenhagen University Hospital, Hvidovre and Department of Immunology and Microbiology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, DK-2200 Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Christina Sølund
- Copenhagen Hepatitis C Program (CO-HEP), Department of Infectious Diseases, Copenhagen University Hospital, Hvidovre and Department of Immunology and Microbiology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, DK-2200 Copenhagen, Denmark
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Copenhagen University Hospital, DK-2650 Hvidovre, Denmark
| | - Nina Weis
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Copenhagen University Hospital, DK-2650 Hvidovre, Denmark
- Department of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, DK-2200 Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Kenn Holmbeck
- Copenhagen Hepatitis C Program (CO-HEP), Department of Infectious Diseases, Copenhagen University Hospital, Hvidovre and Department of Immunology and Microbiology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, DK-2200 Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Jannick Prentoe
- Copenhagen Hepatitis C Program (CO-HEP), Department of Infectious Diseases, Copenhagen University Hospital, Hvidovre and Department of Immunology and Microbiology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, DK-2200 Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Jens Bukh
- Copenhagen Hepatitis C Program (CO-HEP), Department of Infectious Diseases, Copenhagen University Hospital, Hvidovre and Department of Immunology and Microbiology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, DK-2200 Copenhagen, Denmark
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16
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Prentoe J, Janitzek CM, Velázquez-Moctezuma R, Soerensen A, Jørgensen T, Clemmensen S, Soroka V, Thrane S, Theander T, Nielsen MA, Salanti A, Bukh J, Sander AF. Two-component vaccine consisting of virus-like particles displaying hepatitis C virus envelope protein 2 oligomers. NPJ Vaccines 2022; 7:148. [DOI: 10.1038/s41541-022-00570-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/04/2022] [Accepted: 10/31/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
AbstractDevelopment of B-cell-based hepatitis C virus (HCV) vaccines that induce broadly neutralizing antibodies (bNAbs) is hindered by extensive sequence diversity and low immunogenicity of envelope glycoprotein vaccine candidates, most notably soluble E2 (sE2). To overcome this, we employed two-component approaches using self-assembling virus-like particles (cVLPs; component 1), displaying monomeric or oligomeric forms of HCV sE2 (sE2mono or sE2oligo; component 2). Immunization studies were performed in BALB/c mice and the neutralizing capacity of vaccine-induced antibodies was tested in cultured-virus-neutralizations, using HCV of genotypes 1–6. sE2-cVLP vaccines induced significantly higher levels of NAbs (p = 0.0065) compared to corresponding sE2 vaccines. Additionally, sE2oligo-cVLP was superior to sE2mono-cVLP in inducing bNAbs. Interestingly, human monoclonal antibody AR2A had reduced binding in ELISA to sE2oligo-cVLP compared with sE2mono-cVLP and competition ELISA using mouse sera from vaccinated animals indicated that sE2oligo-cVLP induced significantly less non-bNAbs AR2A (p = 0.0043) and AR1B (p = 0.017). Thus, cVLP-displayed oligomeric sE2 shows promise as an HCV vaccine candidate.
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17
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Sepúlveda-Crespo D, Yélamos MB, Díez C, Gómez J, Hontañón V, Torresano-Felipe F, Berenguer J, González-García J, Ibañez-Samaniego L, Llop E, Olveira A, Martínez J, Resino S, Martínez I. Negative impact of HIV infection on broad-spectrum anti-HCV neutralizing antibody titers in HCV-infected patients with advanced HCV-related cirrhosis. Biomed Pharmacother 2022; 150:113024. [PMID: 35483197 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopha.2022.113024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/23/2022] [Revised: 04/20/2022] [Accepted: 04/20/2022] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVES The current study aimed to assess the impact of HIV on the production of anti-HCV antibodies in HCV-infected individuals with advanced HCV-related cirrhosis before and 36 weeks after the sustained virological response (SVR) induced by direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) therapy. METHODS Prospective study on 62 patients (50 HIV/HCV-coinfected and 12 HCV-monoinfected). Plasma anti-E2 and HCV-nAbs were determined respectively by ELISA and microneutralization assays. RESULTS At baseline, the HCV-group had higher anti-E2 levels against Gt1a (p = 0.012), Gt1b (p = 0.023), and Gt4a (p = 0.005) than the HIV/HCV-group. After SVR, anti-E2 titers against Gt1a (p < 0.001), Gt1b (p = 0.001), and Gt4a (p = 0.042) were also higher in the HCV-group than HIV/HCV-group. At 36 weeks post-SVR, plasma anti-E2 titers decreased between 1.3 and 1.9-fold in the HIV/HCV-group (p < 0.001) and between 1.5 and 1.8-fold in the HCV-group (p ≤ 0.001). At baseline, the HCV-group had higher titers of HCV-nAbs against Gt1a (p = 0.022), Gt1b (p = 0.002), Gt2a (p < 0.001), and Gt4a (p < 0.001) than the HIV/HCV-group. After SVR, HCV-nAbs titers against Gt1a (p = 0.014), Gt1b (p < 0.001), Gt2a (p = 0.002), and Gt4a (p = 0.004) were also higher in the HCV-group. At 36 weeks post-SVR, HCV-nAbs decreased between 2.6 and 4.1-fold in the HIV/HCV-group (p < 0.001) and between 1.9 and 4.0-fold in the HCV-group (p ≤ 0.001). CONCLUSIONS HIV/HCV-coinfected patients produced lower levels of broad-spectrum anti-HCV antibodies than HCV-monoinfected patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Sepúlveda-Crespo
- Unidad de Infección Viral e Inmunidad, Centro Nacional de Microbiología, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Majadahonda, Madrid, Spain; Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red en Enfermedades Infecciosas (CIBERINFEC), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain
| | - María Belén Yélamos
- Departamento de Bioquímica y Biología Molecular, Facultad de Ciencias Químicas, Universidad Complutense, Madrid, Spain
| | - Cristina Díez
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red en Enfermedades Infecciosas (CIBERINFEC), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain; Unidad de Enfermedades Infecciosas/VIH; Hospital General Universitario Gregorio Marañón, Madrid, Spain; Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria del Gregorio Marañón, Madrid, Spain
| | - Julián Gómez
- Departamento de Bioquímica y Biología Molecular, Facultad de Ciencias Químicas, Universidad Complutense, Madrid, Spain
| | - Víctor Hontañón
- Unidad de VIH; Servicio de Medicina Interna, Hospital Universitario La Paz, Madrid, Spain; Instituto de Investigación Hospital Universitario La Paz, Madrid, Spain
| | - Francisco Torresano-Felipe
- Unidad de Infección Viral e Inmunidad, Centro Nacional de Microbiología, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Majadahonda, Madrid, Spain; Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red en Enfermedades Infecciosas (CIBERINFEC), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain
| | - Juan Berenguer
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red en Enfermedades Infecciosas (CIBERINFEC), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain; Unidad de Enfermedades Infecciosas/VIH; Hospital General Universitario Gregorio Marañón, Madrid, Spain; Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria del Gregorio Marañón, Madrid, Spain
| | - Juan González-García
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red en Enfermedades Infecciosas (CIBERINFEC), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain; Unidad de VIH; Servicio de Medicina Interna, Hospital Universitario La Paz, Madrid, Spain; Instituto de Investigación Hospital Universitario La Paz, Madrid, Spain
| | - Luis Ibañez-Samaniego
- Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria del Gregorio Marañón, Madrid, Spain; Servicio de Aparato Digestivo, Hospital General Universitario Gregorio Marañón, Madrid, Spain
| | - Elva Llop
- Servicio de Aparato Digestivo, Hospital Universitario Puerta de Hierro, Madrid, Spain
| | - Antonio Olveira
- Instituto de Investigación Hospital Universitario La Paz, Madrid, Spain; Servicio de Aparato Digestivo, Hospital Universitario La Paz, Madrid, Spain
| | - Javier Martínez
- Servicio de Aparato Digestivo, Hospital Universitario Ramón y Cajal, Madrid, Spain
| | - Salvador Resino
- Unidad de Infección Viral e Inmunidad, Centro Nacional de Microbiología, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Majadahonda, Madrid, Spain; Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red en Enfermedades Infecciosas (CIBERINFEC), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain.
| | - Isidoro Martínez
- Unidad de Infección Viral e Inmunidad, Centro Nacional de Microbiología, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Majadahonda, Madrid, Spain; Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red en Enfermedades Infecciosas (CIBERINFEC), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain.
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Heuss C, Rothhaar P, Burm R, Lee JY, Ralfs P, Haselmann U, Ströh LJ, Colasanti O, Tran CS, Schäfer N, Schnitzler P, Merle U, Bartenschlager R, Patel AH, Graw F, Krey T, Laketa V, Meuleman P, Lohmann V. A Hepatitis C virus genotype 1b post-transplant isolate with high replication efficiency in cell culture and its adaptation to infectious virus production in vitro and in vivo. PLoS Pathog 2022; 18:e1010472. [PMID: 35763545 PMCID: PMC9273080 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1010472] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2022] [Revised: 07/11/2022] [Accepted: 05/29/2022] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is highly diverse and grouped into eight genotypes (gts). Infectious cell culture models are limited to a few subtypes and isolates, hampering the development of prophylactic vaccines. A consensus gt1b genome (termed GLT1) was generated from an HCV infected liver-transplanted patient. GLT1 replicated to an outstanding efficiency in Huh7 cells upon SEC14L2 expression, by use of replication enhancing mutations or with a previously developed inhibitor-based regimen. RNA replication levels almost reached JFH-1, but full-length genomes failed to produce detectable amounts of infectious virus. Long-term passaging led to the adaptation of a genome carrying 21 mutations and concomitant production of high levels of transmissible infectivity (GLT1cc). During the adaptation, GLT1 spread in the culture even in absence of detectable amounts of free virus, likely due to cell-to-cell transmission, which appeared to substantially contribute to spreading of other isolates as well. Mechanistically, genome replication and particle production efficiency were enhanced by adaptation, while cell entry competence of HCV pseudoparticles was not affected. Furthermore, GLT1cc retained the ability to replicate in human liver chimeric mice, which was critically dependent on a mutation in domain 3 of nonstructural protein NS5A. Over the course of infection, only one mutation in the surface glycoprotein E2 consistently reverted to wildtype, facilitating assembly in cell culture but potentially affecting CD81 interaction in vivo. Overall, GLT1cc is an efficient gt1b infectious cell culture model, paving the road to a rationale-based establishment of new infectious HCV isolates and represents an important novel tool for the development of prophylactic HCV vaccines.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christian Heuss
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Molecular Virology, Section virus-host interactions, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Paul Rothhaar
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Molecular Virology, Section virus-host interactions, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Rani Burm
- Laboratory of Liver Infectious Diseases, Ghent University, Gent, Belgium
| | - Ji-Young Lee
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Molecular Virology, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Philipp Ralfs
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Molecular Virology, Section virus-host interactions, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Uta Haselmann
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Molecular Virology, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Luisa J. Ströh
- Institute of Virology, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
| | - Ombretta Colasanti
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Molecular Virology, Section virus-host interactions, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Cong Si Tran
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Molecular Virology, Section virus-host interactions, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Noemi Schäfer
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Molecular Virology, Section virus-host interactions, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Paul Schnitzler
- Department of Infectious Diseases Virology, University Hospital Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Uta Merle
- Department of Internal Medicine IV, University Hospital Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Ralf Bartenschlager
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Molecular Virology, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany
- German Center for Infection Research, partner site Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
- Division Virus-Associated Carcinogenesis, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Arvind H. Patel
- MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research, Glasgow, United Kingdom
| | - Frederik Graw
- BioQuant – Center for Quantitative Biology, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany
- Interdisciplinary Center for Scientific Computing, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Thomas Krey
- Institute of Virology, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
- Center of Structural and Cell Biology in Medicine, Institute of Biochemistry, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany
- Centre for Structural Systems Biology (CSSB), Hamburg, Germany
- German Center for Infection Research (DZIF), Partner Site Hamburg-Lübeck-Borstel-Riems, Lübeck, Germany
- Cluster of Excellence RESIST (EXC 2155), Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
| | - Vibor Laketa
- Department of Infectious Diseases Virology, University Hospital Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
- German Center for Infection Research, partner site Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Philip Meuleman
- Laboratory of Liver Infectious Diseases, Ghent University, Gent, Belgium
| | - Volker Lohmann
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Molecular Virology, Section virus-host interactions, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany
- German Center for Infection Research, partner site Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
- * E-mail:
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19
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Pihl AF, Feng S, Offersgaard A, Alzua GP, Augestad EH, Mathiesen CK, Jensen TB, Krarup H, Law M, Prentoe J, Christensen JP, Bukh J, Gottwein JM. Inactivated whole hepatitis C virus vaccine employing a licensed adjuvant elicits cross-genotype neutralizing antibodies in mice. J Hepatol 2022; 76:1051-1061. [PMID: 34990750 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhep.2021.12.026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/05/2021] [Revised: 11/26/2021] [Accepted: 12/22/2021] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND & AIMS A prophylactic vaccine is required to eliminate HCV as a global public health threat. We developed whole virus inactivated HCV vaccine candidates employing a licensed adjuvant. Further, we investigated the effects of HCV envelope protein modifications (to increase neutralization epitope exposure) on immunogenicity. METHODS Whole virus vaccine antigen was produced in Huh7.5 hepatoma cells, processed using a multistep protocol and formulated with adjuvant (MF-59 analogue AddaVax or aluminium hydroxide). We investigated the capacity of IgG purified from the serum of immunized BALB/c mice to neutralize genotype 1-6 HCV (by virus neutralization assays) and to bind homologous envelope proteins (by ELISA). Viruses used for immunizations were (i) HCV5aHi with strain SA13 envelope proteins and modification of an O-linked glycosylation site in E2 (T385P), (ii) HCV5aHi(T385) with reversion of T385P to T385, featuring the original E2 sequence determined in vivo and (iii) HCV5aHi(ΔHVR1) with deletion of HVR1. For these viruses, epitope exposure was investigated using human monoclonal (AR3A and AR4A) and polyclonal (C211 and H06) antibodies in neutralization assays. RESULTS Processed HCV5aHi formulated with AddaVax induced antibodies that efficiently bound homologous envelope proteins and broadly neutralized cultured genotype 1-6 HCV, with half maximal inhibitory concentrations of between 14 and 192 μg/ml (mean of 36 μg/ml against the homologous virus). Vaccination with aluminium hydroxide was less immunogenic. Compared to HCV5aHi(T385) with the original E2 sequence, HCV5aHi with a modified glycosylation site and HCV5aHi(ΔHVR1) without HVR1 showed increased neutralization epitope exposure but similar immunogenicity. CONCLUSION Using an adjuvant suitable for human use, we developed inactivated whole HCV vaccine candidates that induced broadly neutralizing antibodies, which warrant investigation in further pre-clinical studies. LAY SUMMARY A vaccine against hepatitis C virus (HCV) is needed to prevent the estimated 2 million new infections and 400,000 deaths caused by this virus each year. We developed inactivated whole HCV vaccine candidates using adjuvants licensed for human use, which, following immunization of mice, induced antibodies that efficiently neutralized all HCV genotypes with recognized epidemiological importance. HCV variants with modified envelope proteins exhibited similar immunogenicity as the virus with the original envelope proteins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anne Finne Pihl
- Copenhagen Hepatitis C Program (CO-HEP), Department of Infectious Diseases, Copenhagen University Hospital - Amager and Hvidovre, and Department of Immunology and Microbiolgy, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Shan Feng
- Copenhagen Hepatitis C Program (CO-HEP), Department of Infectious Diseases, Copenhagen University Hospital - Amager and Hvidovre, and Department of Immunology and Microbiolgy, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Anna Offersgaard
- Copenhagen Hepatitis C Program (CO-HEP), Department of Infectious Diseases, Copenhagen University Hospital - Amager and Hvidovre, and Department of Immunology and Microbiolgy, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Garazi Peña Alzua
- Copenhagen Hepatitis C Program (CO-HEP), Department of Infectious Diseases, Copenhagen University Hospital - Amager and Hvidovre, and Department of Immunology and Microbiolgy, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Elias Honerød Augestad
- Copenhagen Hepatitis C Program (CO-HEP), Department of Infectious Diseases, Copenhagen University Hospital - Amager and Hvidovre, and Department of Immunology and Microbiolgy, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Christian Kjaerulff Mathiesen
- Copenhagen Hepatitis C Program (CO-HEP), Department of Infectious Diseases, Copenhagen University Hospital - Amager and Hvidovre, and Department of Immunology and Microbiolgy, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Tanja Bertelsen Jensen
- Copenhagen Hepatitis C Program (CO-HEP), Department of Infectious Diseases, Copenhagen University Hospital - Amager and Hvidovre, and Department of Immunology and Microbiolgy, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Henrik Krarup
- Department of Molecular Diagnostics, Aalborg University Hospital and Clinical Institute, Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark
| | - Mansun Law
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, California, United States
| | - Jannick Prentoe
- Copenhagen Hepatitis C Program (CO-HEP), Department of Infectious Diseases, Copenhagen University Hospital - Amager and Hvidovre, and Department of Immunology and Microbiolgy, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Jan Pravsgaard Christensen
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Jens Bukh
- Copenhagen Hepatitis C Program (CO-HEP), Department of Infectious Diseases, Copenhagen University Hospital - Amager and Hvidovre, and Department of Immunology and Microbiolgy, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Judith Margarete Gottwein
- Copenhagen Hepatitis C Program (CO-HEP), Department of Infectious Diseases, Copenhagen University Hospital - Amager and Hvidovre, and Department of Immunology and Microbiolgy, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Denmark.
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20
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Wang R, Suzuki S, Guest JD, Heller B, Almeda M, Andrianov AK, Marin A, Mariuzza RA, Keck ZY, Foung SKH, Yunus AS, Pierce BG, Toth EA, Ploss A, Fuerst TR. Induction of broadly neutralizing antibodies using a secreted form of the hepatitis C virus E1E2 heterodimer as a vaccine candidate. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2022; 119:e2112008119. [PMID: 35263223 PMCID: PMC8931252 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2112008119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2021] [Accepted: 01/19/2022] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
SignificanceHepatitis C virus chronically infects approximately 1% of the world's population, making an effective vaccine for hepatitis C virus a major unmet public health need. The membrane-associated E1E2 envelope glycoprotein has been used in clinical studies as a vaccine candidate. However, limited neutralization breadth and difficulty in producing large amounts of homogeneous membrane-associated E1E2 have hampered efforts to develop an E1E2-based vaccine. Our previous work described the design and biochemical validation of a native-like soluble secreted form of E1E2 (sE1E2). Here, we describe the immunogenic characterization of the sE1E2 complex. sE1E2 elicited broadly neutralizing antibodies in immunized mice, with increased neutralization breadth relative to the membrane-associated E1E2, thereby validating this platform as a promising model system for vaccine development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ruixue Wang
- Institute for Bioscience and Biotechnology Research, University of Maryland, Rockville, MD 20850
| | - Saori Suzuki
- Department of Molecular Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08540
| | - Johnathan D. Guest
- Institute for Bioscience and Biotechnology Research, University of Maryland, Rockville, MD 20850
- Department of Cell Biology and Molecular Genetics, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742
| | - Brigitte Heller
- Department of Molecular Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08540
| | - Maricar Almeda
- Department of Molecular Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08540
| | - Alexander K. Andrianov
- Institute for Bioscience and Biotechnology Research, University of Maryland, Rockville, MD 20850
| | - Alexander Marin
- Institute for Bioscience and Biotechnology Research, University of Maryland, Rockville, MD 20850
| | - Roy A. Mariuzza
- Institute for Bioscience and Biotechnology Research, University of Maryland, Rockville, MD 20850
- Department of Cell Biology and Molecular Genetics, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742
| | - Zhen-Yong Keck
- Department of Pathology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305
| | - Steven K. H. Foung
- Department of Pathology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305
| | - Abdul S. Yunus
- Institute for Bioscience and Biotechnology Research, University of Maryland, Rockville, MD 20850
| | - Brian G. Pierce
- Institute for Bioscience and Biotechnology Research, University of Maryland, Rockville, MD 20850
- Department of Cell Biology and Molecular Genetics, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742
| | - Eric A. Toth
- Institute for Bioscience and Biotechnology Research, University of Maryland, Rockville, MD 20850
| | - Alexander Ploss
- Department of Molecular Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08540
| | - Thomas R. Fuerst
- Institute for Bioscience and Biotechnology Research, University of Maryland, Rockville, MD 20850
- Department of Cell Biology and Molecular Genetics, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742
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21
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High-Titer Hepatitis C Virus Production in a Scalable Single-Use High Cell Density Bioreactor. Vaccines (Basel) 2022; 10:vaccines10020249. [PMID: 35214707 PMCID: PMC8880717 DOI: 10.3390/vaccines10020249] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2021] [Revised: 01/22/2022] [Accepted: 01/28/2022] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections pose a major public health burden due to high chronicity rates and associated morbidity and mortality. A vaccine protecting against chronic infection is not available but would be important for global control of HCV infections. In this study, cell culture-based HCV production was established in a packed-bed bioreactor (CelCradle™) aiming to further the development of an inactivated whole virus vaccine and to facilitate virological and immunological studies requiring large quantities of virus particles. HCV was produced in human hepatoma-derived Huh7.5 cells maintained in serum-free medium on days of virus harvesting. Highest virus yields were obtained when the culture was maintained with two medium exchanges per day. However, increasing the total number of cells in the culture vessel negatively impacted infectivity titers. Peak infectivity titers of up to 7.2 log10 focus forming units (FFU)/mL, accumulated virus yields of up to 5.9 × 1010 FFU, and a cell specific virus yield of up to 41 FFU/cell were obtained from one CelCradle™. CelCradle™-derived and T flask-derived virus had similar characteristics regarding neutralization sensitivity and buoyant density. This packed-bed tide-motion system is available with larger vessels and may thus be a promising platform for large-scale HCV production.
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22
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Salas JH, Urbanowicz RA, Guest JD, Frumento N, Figueroa A, Clark KE, Keck Z, Cowton VM, Cole SJ, Patel AH, Fuerst TR, Drummer HE, Major M, Tarr AW, Ball JK, Law M, Pierce BG, Foung SKH, Bailey JR. An Antigenically Diverse, Representative Panel of Envelope Glycoproteins for Hepatitis C Virus Vaccine Development. Gastroenterology 2022; 162:562-574. [PMID: 34655573 PMCID: PMC8792218 DOI: 10.1053/j.gastro.2021.10.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2021] [Revised: 10/05/2021] [Accepted: 10/06/2021] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND & AIMS Development of a prophylactic hepatitis C virus (HCV) vaccine will require accurate and reproducible measurement of neutralizing breadth of vaccine-induced antibodies. Currently available HCV panels may not adequately represent the genetic and antigenic diversity of circulating HCV strains, and the lack of standardization of these panels makes it difficult to compare neutralization results obtained in different studies. Here, we describe the selection and validation of a genetically and antigenically diverse reference panel of 15 HCV pseudoparticles (HCVpps) for neutralization assays. METHODS We chose 75 envelope (E1E2) clones to maximize representation of natural polymorphisms observed in circulating HCV isolates, and 65 of these clones generated functional HCVpps. Neutralization sensitivity of these HCVpps varied widely. HCVpps clustered into 15 distinct groups based on patterns of relative sensitivity to 7 broadly neutralizing monoclonal antibodies. We used these data to select a final panel of 15 antigenically representative HCVpps. RESULTS Both the 65 and 15 HCVpp panels span 4 tiers of neutralization sensitivity, and neutralizing breadth measurements for 7 broadly neutralizing monoclonal antibodies were nearly equivalent using either panel. Differences in neutralization sensitivity between HCVpps were independent of genetic distances between E1E2 clones. CONCLUSIONS Neutralizing breadth of HCV antibodies should be defined using viruses spanning multiple tiers of neutralization sensitivity rather than panels selected solely for genetic diversity. We propose that this multitier reference panel could be adopted as a standard for the measurement of neutralizing antibody potency and breadth, facilitating meaningful comparisons of neutralization results from vaccine studies in different laboratories.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jordan H Salas
- Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Richard A Urbanowicz
- School of Life Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, The University of Nottingham, Nottingham, United Kingdom; Wolfson Centre for Global Virus Research, The University of Nottingham, Nottingham, United Kingdom; National Institute for Health Research Nottingham Biomedical Research Centre, Nottingham University Hospitals National Health Service Trust, Nottingham, United Kingdom
| | - Johnathan D Guest
- Institute for Bioscience and Biotechnology Research, University of Maryland, Rockville, Maryland; Department of Cell Biology and Molecular Genetics, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland
| | - Nicole Frumento
- Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Alexis Figueroa
- Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Kaitlyn E Clark
- Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Zhenyong Keck
- Department of Pathology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California
| | - Vanessa M Cowton
- Medical Research Council-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research, Glasgow, United Kingdom
| | - Sarah J Cole
- Medical Research Council-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research, Glasgow, United Kingdom
| | - Arvind H Patel
- Medical Research Council-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research, Glasgow, United Kingdom
| | - Thomas R Fuerst
- Institute for Bioscience and Biotechnology Research, University of Maryland, Rockville, Maryland; Department of Cell Biology and Molecular Genetics, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland
| | - Heidi E Drummer
- Viral Entry and Vaccines Group, Burnet Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia; Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia; Department of Microbiology, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia
| | - Marian Major
- Division of Viral Products, Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, United States Food and Drug Administration, Silver Spring, Maryland
| | - Alexander W Tarr
- School of Life Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, The University of Nottingham, Nottingham, United Kingdom; Wolfson Centre for Global Virus Research, The University of Nottingham, Nottingham, United Kingdom; National Institute for Health Research Nottingham Biomedical Research Centre, Nottingham University Hospitals National Health Service Trust, Nottingham, United Kingdom
| | - Jonathan K Ball
- School of Life Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, The University of Nottingham, Nottingham, United Kingdom; Wolfson Centre for Global Virus Research, The University of Nottingham, Nottingham, United Kingdom; National Institute for Health Research Nottingham Biomedical Research Centre, Nottingham University Hospitals National Health Service Trust, Nottingham, United Kingdom
| | - Mansun Law
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, California
| | - Brian G Pierce
- Institute for Bioscience and Biotechnology Research, University of Maryland, Rockville, Maryland; Department of Cell Biology and Molecular Genetics, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland
| | - Steven K H Foung
- Department of Pathology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California
| | - Justin R Bailey
- Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland.
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23
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Dwivedi V, Gupta RK, Gupta A, Chaudhary VK, Gupta S, Gupta V. Repurposing Novel Antagonists to p7 Viroporin of HCV Using in silico Approach. LETT DRUG DES DISCOV 2022. [DOI: 10.2174/1570180819666220124112150] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Abstract:
Background: P7 viroporin in HCV is a cation-selective ion channel-forming protein, functional in the oligomeric form. It is considered to be a potential target for anti-HCV compounds due to its crucial role in viral entry, assembly and release.
Method:
Conserved crucial residues present in HCV p7 protein were delineated with a specific focus on the genotypes 3a &1b prevalent in India from the available literature. Using the Flex-X docking tool, a library of FDA-approved drugs was docked on the receptor sites prepared around crucial residues. In the present study, we propose drug repurposing to target viroporin p7, which may help in the rapid development of effective anti-HCV therapies.
Results:
With our approach of poly-pharmacology, a variety of drugs currently identified classified as antibiotics, anti-parasitic, antiemetic, anti-retroviral, and anti-neoplastic were found to dock successfully with the p7 viroporin. Noteworthy among these are general-purpose cephalosporin antibiotics, leucal, phthalylsulfathiazole, and granisetron, which may be useful in acute HCV infection and anti-neoplastic sorafenib and nilotinib, which may be valuable in advanced HCV-HCC cases.
Conclusion:
This study could pave the way for quick repurposing of these compounds as anti-HCV therapeutics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Varsha Dwivedi
- Department of Microbiology, Ram Lal Anand College, Delhi University, Benito Juarez Road, New Delhi, India
| | - Rakesh Kumar Gupta
- Department of Microbiology, Ram Lal Anand College, Delhi University, Benito Juarez Road, New Delhi, India
| | - Amita Gupta
- Department of Biochemistry and Centre for Innovation in Infectious Disease Research, Education and Training, University of Delhi South Campus, Benito Juarez Marg, New Delhi, India
| | - Vijay K Chaudhary
- Department of Biochemistry and Centre for Innovation in Infectious Disease Research, Education and Training, University of Delhi South Campus, Benito Juarez Marg, New Delhi, India
| | - Sanjay Gupta
- Department of Biotechnology, Jaypee Institute of Information Technology, Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India
| | - Vandana Gupta
- Department of Microbiology, Ram Lal Anand College, Delhi University, Benito Juarez Road, New Delhi, India
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24
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Incorporation of apolipoprotein E into HBV-HCV subviral envelope particles to improve the hepatitis vaccine strategy. Sci Rep 2021; 11:21856. [PMID: 34750487 PMCID: PMC8575973 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-01428-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2021] [Accepted: 10/27/2021] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Hepatitis C is a major threat to public health for which an effective treatment is available, but a prophylactic vaccine is still needed to control this disease. We designed a vaccine based on chimeric HBV-HCV envelope proteins forming subviral particles (SVPs) that induce neutralizing antibodies against HCV in vitro. Here, we aimed to increase the neutralizing potential of those antibodies, by using HBV-HCV SVPs bearing apolipoprotein E (apoE). These particles were produced by cultured stable mammalian cell clones, purified and characterized. We found that apoE was able to interact with both chimeric HBV-HCV (E1-S and E2-S) proteins, and with the wild-type HBV S protein. ApoE was also detected on the surface of purified SVPs and improved the folding of HCV envelope proteins, but its presence lowered the incorporation of E2-S protein. Immunization of New Zealand rabbits resulted in similar anti-S responses for all rabbits, whereas anti-E1/-E2 antibody titers varied according to the presence or absence of apoE. Regarding the neutralizing potential of these anti-E1/-E2 antibodies, it was higher in rabbits immunized with apoE-bearing particles. In conclusion, the association of apoE with HCV envelope proteins may be a good strategy for improving HCV vaccines based on viral envelope proteins.
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25
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Affiliation(s)
- T Jake Liang
- From the Liver Diseases Branch, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda (T.J.L.), and the Division of Infectious Diseases, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore (A.C.) - both in Maryland; the Toronto Centre for Liver Disease, Toronto General Hospital, University of Toronto, Toronto (J.J.F.); and the Laboratory of Virology and Infectious Disease, Rockefeller University, New York (C.M.R.)
| | - Jordan J Feld
- From the Liver Diseases Branch, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda (T.J.L.), and the Division of Infectious Diseases, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore (A.C.) - both in Maryland; the Toronto Centre for Liver Disease, Toronto General Hospital, University of Toronto, Toronto (J.J.F.); and the Laboratory of Virology and Infectious Disease, Rockefeller University, New York (C.M.R.)
| | - Andrea L Cox
- From the Liver Diseases Branch, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda (T.J.L.), and the Division of Infectious Diseases, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore (A.C.) - both in Maryland; the Toronto Centre for Liver Disease, Toronto General Hospital, University of Toronto, Toronto (J.J.F.); and the Laboratory of Virology and Infectious Disease, Rockefeller University, New York (C.M.R.)
| | - Charles M Rice
- From the Liver Diseases Branch, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda (T.J.L.), and the Division of Infectious Diseases, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore (A.C.) - both in Maryland; the Toronto Centre for Liver Disease, Toronto General Hospital, University of Toronto, Toronto (J.J.F.); and the Laboratory of Virology and Infectious Disease, Rockefeller University, New York (C.M.R.)
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26
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Bankwitz D, Bahai A, Labuhn M, Doepke M, Ginkel C, Khera T, Todt D, Ströh LJ, Dold L, Klein F, Klawonn F, Krey T, Behrendt P, Cornberg M, McHardy AC, Pietschmann T. Hepatitis C reference viruses highlight potent antibody responses and diverse viral functional interactions with neutralising antibodies. Gut 2021; 70:1734-1745. [PMID: 33323394 PMCID: PMC8355883 DOI: 10.1136/gutjnl-2020-321190] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/23/2020] [Revised: 09/15/2020] [Accepted: 10/11/2020] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Neutralising antibodies are key effectors of infection-induced and vaccine-induced immunity. Quantification of antibodies' breadth and potency is critical for understanding the mechanisms of protection and for prioritisation of vaccines. Here, we used a unique collection of human specimens and HCV strains to develop HCV reference viruses for quantification of neutralising antibodies, and to investigate viral functional diversity. DESIGN We profiled neutralisation potency of polyclonal immunoglobulins from 104 patients infected with HCV genotype (GT) 1-6 across 13 HCV strains representing five viral GTs. Using metric multidimensional scaling, we plotted HCV neutralisation onto neutralisation maps. We employed K-means clustering to guide virus clustering and selecting representative strains. RESULTS Viruses differed greatly in neutralisation sensitivity, with J6 (GT2a) being most resistant and SA13 (GT5a) being most sensitive. They mapped to six distinct neutralisation clusters, in part composed of viruses from different GTs. There was no correlation between viral neutralisation and genetic distance, indicating functional neutralisation clustering differs from sequence-based clustering. Calibrating reference viruses representing these clusters against purified antibodies from 496 patients infected by GT1 to GT6 viruses readily identified individuals with extraordinary potent and broadly neutralising antibodies. It revealed comparable antibody cross-neutralisation and diversity between specimens from diverse viral GTs, confirming well-balanced reporting of HCV cross-neutralisation across highly diverse human samples. CONCLUSION Representative isolates from six neutralisation clusters broadly reconstruct the functional HCV neutralisation space. They enable high resolution profiling of HCV neutralisation and they may reflect viral functional and antigenic properties important to consider in HCV vaccine design.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dorothea Bankwitz
- Experimental Virology, TWINCORE Center of Experimental and Clinical Infection Research, Hannover, Germany
| | - Akash Bahai
- Computational Biology for Infection Research, Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research, Braunschweig, Germany
| | - Maurice Labuhn
- Experimental Virology, TWINCORE Center of Experimental and Clinical Infection Research, Hannover, Germany
| | - Mandy Doepke
- Experimental Virology, TWINCORE Center of Experimental and Clinical Infection Research, Hannover, Germany
| | - Corinne Ginkel
- Experimental Virology, TWINCORE Center of Experimental and Clinical Infection Research, Hannover, Germany
| | - Tanvi Khera
- Experimental Virology, TWINCORE Center of Experimental and Clinical Infection Research, Hannover, Germany
| | - Daniel Todt
- Experimental Virology, TWINCORE Center of Experimental and Clinical Infection Research, Hannover, Germany
- Department of Molecular and Medical Virology, Ruhr-Universitat Bochum, Bochum, Germany
| | - Luisa J Ströh
- Institute of Virology, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
| | - Leona Dold
- Laboratory of Experimental Immunology, Institute of Virology, University Hospital Cologne, Koln, Germany
| | - Florian Klein
- Laboratory of Experimental Immunology, Institute of Virology, University Hospital Cologne, Koln, Germany
- Partner site Cologne-Bonn, German Centre for Infection Research, Braunschweig, Germany
| | - Frank Klawonn
- Biostatistics, Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research, Braunschweig, Germany
- Institute for Information Engineering, Ostfalia University of Applied Sciences, Wolfenbuttel, Germany
| | - Thomas Krey
- Institute of Virology, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
- Center of Structural and Cell Biology in Medicine, Institute of Biochemistry, University of Luebeck, Luebeck, Germany
- German Center for Infection Research (DZIF), partner site Hamburg-Lübeck-Borstel-Riems, Germany
- Centre for Structural Systems Biology (CSSB), Hamburg, Germany
- Cluster of Excellence RESIST (EXC 2155), Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
| | - Patrick Behrendt
- Experimental Virology, TWINCORE Center of Experimental and Clinical Infection Research, Hannover, Germany
- Partner site Hannover-Braunschweig, German Centre for Infection Research, Braunschweig, Germany
| | - Markus Cornberg
- Partner site Hannover-Braunschweig, German Centre for Infection Research, Braunschweig, Germany
- Department of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Endocrinology, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
| | - Alice C McHardy
- Computational Biology for Infection Research, Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research, Braunschweig, Germany
- Partner site Hannover-Braunschweig, German Centre for Infection Research, Braunschweig, Germany
| | - Thomas Pietschmann
- Experimental Virology, TWINCORE Center of Experimental and Clinical Infection Research, Hannover, Germany
- Partner site Hannover-Braunschweig, German Centre for Infection Research, Braunschweig, Germany
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27
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Antigenic and immunogenic evaluation of permutations of soluble hepatitis C virus envelope protein E2 and E1 antigens. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0255336. [PMID: 34329365 PMCID: PMC8323887 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0255336] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2021] [Accepted: 07/14/2021] [Indexed: 01/25/2023] Open
Abstract
Yearly, about 1.5 million people become chronically infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV) and for the 71 million with chronic HCV infection about 400,000 die from related morbidities, including liver cirrhosis and cancer. Effective treatments exist, but challenges including cost-of-treatment and wide-spread undiagnosed infection, necessitates the development of vaccines. Vaccines should induce neutralizing antibodies (NAbs) against the HCV envelope (E) transmembrane glycoprotein 2, E2, which partly depends on its interaction partner, E1, for folding. Here, we generated three soluble HCV envelope protein antigens with the transmembrane regions deleted (i.e., fused peptide backbones), termed sE1E2 (E1 followed by E2), sE2E1 (E2 followed by E1), and sE21E (E2 followed by inverted E1). The E1 inversion for sE21E positions C-terminal residues of E1 near C-terminal residues of E2, which is in analogy to how they likely interact in native E1/E2 complexes. Probing conformational E2 epitope binding using HCV patient-derived human monoclonal antibodies, we show that sE21E was superior to sE2E1, which was consistently superior to sE1E2. This correlated with improved induction of NAbs by sE21E compared with sE2E1 and especially compared with sE1E2 in female BALB/c mouse immunizations. The deletion of the 27 N-terminal amino acids of E2, termed hypervariable region 1 (HVR1), conferred slight increases in antigenicity for sE2E1 and sE21E, but severely impaired induction of antibodies able to neutralize in vitro viruses retaining HVR1. Finally, comparing sE21E with sE2 in mouse immunizations, we show similar induction of heterologous NAbs. In summary, we find that C-terminal E2 fusion of E1 or 1E is superior to N-terminal fusion, both in terms of antigenicity and the induction of heterologous NAbs. This has relevance when designing HCV E1E2 vaccine antigens.
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28
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Olesen CH, Augestad EH, Troise F, Bukh J, Prentoe J. In vitro adaptation and characterization of attenuated hypervariable region 1 swap chimeras of hepatitis C virus. PLoS Pathog 2021; 17:e1009720. [PMID: 34280245 PMCID: PMC8321405 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1009720] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/16/2021] [Revised: 07/29/2021] [Accepted: 06/15/2021] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Hepatitis C virus (HCV) chronically infects 70 million people worldwide with an estimated annual disease-related mortality of 400,000. A vaccine could prevent spread of this pervasive human pathogen, but has proven difficult to develop, partly due to neutralizing antibody evasion mechanisms that are inherent features of the virus envelope glycoproteins, E1 and E2. A central actor is the E2 motif, hypervariable region 1 (HVR1), which protects several non-overlapping neutralization epitopes through an incompletely understood mechanism. Here, we show that introducing different HVR1-isolate sequences into cell-culture infectious JFH1-based H77 (genotype 1a) and J4 (genotype 1b) Core-NS2 recombinants can lead to severe viral attenuation. Culture adaptation of attenuated HVR1-swapped recombinants permitted us to identify E1/E2 substitutions at conserved positions both within and outside HVR1 that increased the infectivity of attenuated HVR1-swapped recombinants but were not adaptive for original recombinants. H77 recombinants with HVR1 from multiple other isolates consistently acquired substitutions at position 348 in E1 and position 385 in HVR1 of E2. Interestingly, HVR1-swapped J4 recombinants primarily acquired other substitutions: F291I (E1), F438V (E2), F447L/V/I (E2) and V710L (E2), indicating a different adaptation pathway. For H77 recombinants, the adaptive E1/E2 substitutions increased sensitivity to the neutralizing monoclonal antibodies AR3A and AR4A, whereas for J4 recombinants, they increased sensitivity to AR3A, while having no effect on sensitivity to AR4A. To evaluate effects of the substitutions on AR3A and AR4A binding, we performed ELISAs on extracted E1/E2 protein and performed immunoprecipitation of relevant viruses. However, extracted E1/E2 protein and immunoprecipitation of HCV particles only reproduced the neutralization phenotypes of the J4 recombinants. Finally, we found that the HVR1-swap E1/E2 substitutions decrease virus entry dependency on co-receptor SR-BI. Our study identifies E1/E2 positions that could be critical for intra-complex HVR1 interactions while emphasizing the need for developing novel tools for molecular studies of E1/E2 interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christina Holmboe Olesen
- Copenhagen Hepatitis C Program (CO-HEP), Department of Infectious Diseases, Hvidovre Hospital, Hvidovre, Denmark
- Copenhagen Hepatitis C Program (CO-HEP), Department of Immunology and Microbiology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Elias H. Augestad
- Copenhagen Hepatitis C Program (CO-HEP), Department of Infectious Diseases, Hvidovre Hospital, Hvidovre, Denmark
- Copenhagen Hepatitis C Program (CO-HEP), Department of Immunology and Microbiology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Fulvia Troise
- Ceinge Biotecnologie Avanzate Via Gaetano Salvatore, Napoli, Italy
| | - Jens Bukh
- Copenhagen Hepatitis C Program (CO-HEP), Department of Infectious Diseases, Hvidovre Hospital, Hvidovre, Denmark
- Copenhagen Hepatitis C Program (CO-HEP), Department of Immunology and Microbiology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Jannick Prentoe
- Copenhagen Hepatitis C Program (CO-HEP), Department of Infectious Diseases, Hvidovre Hospital, Hvidovre, Denmark
- Copenhagen Hepatitis C Program (CO-HEP), Department of Immunology and Microbiology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
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29
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Chen F, Tzarum N, Lin X, Giang E, Velázquez-Moctezuma R, Augestad EH, Nagy K, He L, Hernandez M, Fouch ME, Grinyó A, Chavez D, Doranz BJ, Prentoe J, Stanfield RL, Lanford R, Bukh J, Wilson IA, Zhu J, Law M. Functional convergence of a germline-encoded neutralizing antibody response in rhesus macaques immunized with HCV envelope glycoproteins. Immunity 2021; 54:781-796.e4. [PMID: 33675683 PMCID: PMC8046733 DOI: 10.1016/j.immuni.2021.02.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2020] [Revised: 12/14/2020] [Accepted: 02/10/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Human IGHV1-69-encoded broadly neutralizing antibodies (bnAbs) that target the hepatitis C virus (HCV) envelope glycoprotein (Env) E2 are important for protection against HCV infection. An IGHV1-69 ortholog gene, VH1.36, is preferentially used for bnAbs isolated from HCV Env-immunized rhesus macaques (RMs). Here, we studied the genetic, structural, and functional properties of VH1.36-encoded bnAbs generated by vaccination, in comparison to IGHV1-69-encoded bnAbs from HCV patients. Global B cell repertoire analysis confirmed the expansion of VH1.36-derived B cells in immunized animals. Most E2-specific, VH1.36-encoded antibodies cross-neutralized HCV. Crystal structures of two RM bnAbs with E2 revealed that the RM bnAbs engaged conserved E2 epitopes using similar molecular features as human bnAbs but with a different binding mode. Longitudinal analyses of the RM antibody repertoire responses during immunization indicated rapid lineage development of VH1.36-encoded bnAbs with limited somatic hypermutation. Our findings suggest functional convergence of a germline-encoded bnAb response to HCV Env with implications for vaccination in humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fang Chen
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA
| | - Netanel Tzarum
- Department of Integrative Structural and Computational Biology, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA
| | - Xiaohe Lin
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA
| | - Erick Giang
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA
| | - Rodrigo Velázquez-Moctezuma
- Copenhagen Hepatitis C Program (CO-HEP), Department of Infectious Diseases, Hvidovre Hospital, and Department of Immunology and Microbiology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Elias H Augestad
- Copenhagen Hepatitis C Program (CO-HEP), Department of Infectious Diseases, Hvidovre Hospital, and Department of Immunology and Microbiology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Kenna Nagy
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA
| | - Linling He
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA
| | | | | | | | - Deborah Chavez
- Southwest National Primate Research Center at Texas Biomedical Research Institute, San Antonio, TX 788227, USA
| | | | - Jannick Prentoe
- Copenhagen Hepatitis C Program (CO-HEP), Department of Infectious Diseases, Hvidovre Hospital, and Department of Immunology and Microbiology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Robyn L Stanfield
- Department of Integrative Structural and Computational Biology, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA
| | - Robert Lanford
- Southwest National Primate Research Center at Texas Biomedical Research Institute, San Antonio, TX 788227, USA
| | - Jens Bukh
- Copenhagen Hepatitis C Program (CO-HEP), Department of Infectious Diseases, Hvidovre Hospital, and Department of Immunology and Microbiology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Ian A Wilson
- Department of Integrative Structural and Computational Biology, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA; Skaggs Institute for Chemical Biology, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA.
| | - Jiang Zhu
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA; Department of Integrative Structural and Computational Biology, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA.
| | - Mansun Law
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA.
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30
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Rahimi P, Sharafi H, Bahramali G, SajadianFard F, Asadi NS, Alavian SM, Iranpur Mobarakeh V, Moravej SZ. Prevalence of Naturally-Occurring NS5A and NS5B Resistance-Associated Substitutions in Iranian Patients With Chronic Hepatitis C Infection. Front Microbiol 2021; 11:617375. [PMID: 33584581 PMCID: PMC7876467 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2020.617375] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2020] [Accepted: 12/30/2020] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Hepatitis C virus (HCV), non-structural 5A (NS5A), and non-structural 5B (NS5B) resistance-associated substitutions (RASs) are the main causes of failure to direct-acting antiviral agents (DAAs). NS5A and NS5B RASs can occur in patients with HCV infection naturally and before exposure to DAAs. OBJECTIVES This study aimed to evaluate naturally-occurring NS5A and NS5B RASs in Iranian patients with HCV genotype 1a (HCV-1a) and -3a infections. METHODS In this cross-sectional study, viral RNA was extracted from serum specimens. NS5A and NS5B regions were amplified using RT-PCR followed by DNA sequencing. The results of nucleotide sequences were aligned against reference sequences of HCV-1a and -3a and the amino acid substitutions were analyzed using geno2pheno [hcv] web application. RESULTS Among 135 patients with hepatitis C, NS5A amino acid substitutions/RASs were identified in 26.4% and 15.9% of patients with HCV-1a and -3a infections, respectively. The identified amino acid substitutions/RASs in the NS5A region of patients with HCV-1a infection were M28T/V/I 11.1%, Q30R/H 4.2%, L31M 1.4%, and H58Y/P/C/D/Q/S/T 16.7%. Y93H substitution was not found in HCV-1a sequences. In patients with HCV-3a infection, NS5A amino acid substitutions/RASs were A30T/K 9.5%, L31F 1.6%, P58S/T/C 3.2%, Y93H 3.2%, and Y93N 3.2%. No resistance substitutions were identified in NS5B sequences from patients with HCV-1a and -3a infections. CONCLUSION In this study, baseline amino acid substitutions/RASs were only identified in the NS5A region in Iranian patients with HCV-1a and -3a infections, and the prevalence of these amino acid substitutions/RASs were in accordance with similar studies. There were no RASs in the HCV-1a and -3a NS5B region.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pooneh Rahimi
- Department of Hepatitis and AIDS, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran
| | | | - Golnaz Bahramali
- Department of Hepatitis and AIDS, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran
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31
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Ma CD, Imamura M, Talley DC, Rolt A, Xu X, Wang AQ, Le D, Uchida T, Osawa M, Teraoka Y, Li K, Hu X, Park SB, Chalasani N, Irvin PH, Dulcey AE, Southall N, Marugan JJ, Hu Z, Chayama K, Frankowski KJ, Liang TJ. Fluoxazolevir inhibits hepatitis C virus infection in humanized chimeric mice by blocking viral membrane fusion. Nat Microbiol 2020; 5:1532-1541. [PMID: 32868923 PMCID: PMC7677215 DOI: 10.1038/s41564-020-0781-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2020] [Accepted: 07/27/2020] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Fluoxazolevir is an aryloxazole-based entry inhibitor of hepatitis C virus (HCV). We show that fluoxazolevir inhibits fusion of HCV with hepatic cells by binding HCV envelope protein 1 to prevent fusion. Nine of ten fluoxazolevir resistance-associated substitutions are in envelope protein 1, and four are in a putative fusion peptide. Pharmacokinetic studies in mice, rats and dogs revealed that fluoxazolevir localizes to the liver. A 4-week intraperitoneal regimen of fluoxazolevir in humanized chimeric mice infected with HCV genotypes 1b, 2a or 3 resulted in a 2-log reduction in viraemia, without evidence of drug resistance. In comparison, daclatasvir, an approved HCV drug, suppressed more than 3 log of viraemia but is associated with the emergence of resistance-associated substitutions in mice. Combination therapy using fluoxazolevir and daclatasvir cleared HCV genotypes 1b and 3 in mice. Fluoxazolevir combined with glecaprevir and pibrentasvir was also effective in clearing multidrug-resistant HCV replication in mice. Fluoxazolevir may be promising as the next generation of combination drug cocktails for HCV treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher D Ma
- Liver Diseases Branch, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Michio Imamura
- Department of Gastroenterology and Metabolism, Graduate School of Biomedical & Health Science, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima, Japan
| | - Daniel C Talley
- Division of Preclinical Innovation, National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, National Institutes of Health, Rockville, MD, USA
| | - Adam Rolt
- Liver Diseases Branch, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Xin Xu
- Division of Preclinical Innovation, National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, National Institutes of Health, Rockville, MD, USA
| | - Amy Q Wang
- Division of Preclinical Innovation, National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, National Institutes of Health, Rockville, MD, USA
| | - Derek Le
- Liver Diseases Branch, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Takuro Uchida
- Department of Gastroenterology and Metabolism, Graduate School of Biomedical & Health Science, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima, Japan
| | - Mitsutaka Osawa
- Department of Gastroenterology and Metabolism, Graduate School of Biomedical & Health Science, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima, Japan
| | - Yuji Teraoka
- Department of Gastroenterology and Metabolism, Graduate School of Biomedical & Health Science, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima, Japan
| | - Kelin Li
- Center for Integrative Chemical Biology and Drug Discovery, University of North Carolina Eshelman School of Pharmacy, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Xin Hu
- Division of Preclinical Innovation, National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, National Institutes of Health, Rockville, MD, USA
| | - Seung Bum Park
- Liver Diseases Branch, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Nishanth Chalasani
- Liver Diseases Branch, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Parker H Irvin
- Liver Diseases Branch, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Andres E Dulcey
- Division of Preclinical Innovation, National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, National Institutes of Health, Rockville, MD, USA
| | - Noel Southall
- Division of Preclinical Innovation, National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, National Institutes of Health, Rockville, MD, USA
| | - Juan J Marugan
- Division of Preclinical Innovation, National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, National Institutes of Health, Rockville, MD, USA
| | - Zongyi Hu
- Liver Diseases Branch, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Kazuaki Chayama
- Department of Gastroenterology and Metabolism, Graduate School of Biomedical & Health Science, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima, Japan
| | - Kevin J Frankowski
- Center for Integrative Chemical Biology and Drug Discovery, University of North Carolina Eshelman School of Pharmacy, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Tsanyang Jake Liang
- Liver Diseases Branch, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
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Dent M, Hamorsky K, Vausselin T, Dubuisson J, Miyata Y, Morikawa Y, Matoba N. Safety and Efficacy of Avaren-Fc Lectibody Targeting HCV High-Mannose Glycans in a Human Liver Chimeric Mouse Model. Cell Mol Gastroenterol Hepatol 2020; 11:185-198. [PMID: 32861832 PMCID: PMC7451001 DOI: 10.1016/j.jcmgh.2020.08.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/20/2020] [Revised: 08/21/2020] [Accepted: 08/25/2020] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND & AIMS Infection with hepatitis C virus (HCV) remains a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide despite the recent advent of highly effective direct-acting antivirals. The envelope glycoproteins of HCV are heavily glycosylated with a high proportion of high-mannose glycans (HMGs), which serve as a shield against neutralizing antibodies and assist in the interaction with cell-entry receptors. However, there is no approved therapeutic targeting this potentially druggable biomarker. METHODS The anti-HCV activity of a fusion protein consisting of Avaren lectin and the fragment crystallizable (Fc) region of a human immunoglobulin G1 antibody, Avaren-Fc (AvFc) was evaluated through the use of in vitro neutralization assays as well as an in vivo challenge in a chimeric human liver (PXB) mouse model. Drug toxicity was assessed by histopathology, serum alanine aminotransferase, and mouse body weights. RESULTS AvFc was capable of neutralizing cell culture-derived HCV in a genotype-independent manner, with 50% inhibitory concentration values in the low nanomolar range. Systemic administration of AvFc in a histidine-based buffer was well tolerated; after 11 doses every other day at 25 mg/kg there were no significant changes in body or liver weights or in blood human albumin or serum alanine aminotransferase activity. Gross necropsy and liver pathology confirmed the lack of toxicity. This regimen successfully prevented genotype 1a HCV infection in all animals, although an AvFc mutant lacking HMG binding activity failed. CONCLUSIONS These results suggest that targeting envelope HMGs is a promising therapeutic approach against HCV infection, and AvFc may provide a safe and efficacious means to prevent recurrent infection upon liver transplantation in HCV-related end-stage liver disease patients.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Krystal Hamorsky
- Department of Medicine; James Graham Brown Cancer Center; Center for Predictive Medicine, University of Louisville School of Medicine, Louisville, Kentucky
| | - Thibaut Vausselin
- University of Lille, Centre national de la recherche scientifique, INSERM, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Lille, Institut Pasteur de Lille, U1019, UMR 8204, Center for Infection and Immunity of Lille, Lille, France
| | - Jean Dubuisson
- University of Lille, Centre national de la recherche scientifique, INSERM, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Lille, Institut Pasteur de Lille, U1019, UMR 8204, Center for Infection and Immunity of Lille, Lille, France
| | | | | | - Nobuyuki Matoba
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology; James Graham Brown Cancer Center; Center for Predictive Medicine, University of Louisville School of Medicine, Louisville, Kentucky.
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Augestad EH, Castelli M, Clementi N, Ströh LJ, Krey T, Burioni R, Mancini N, Bukh J, Prentoe J. Global and local envelope protein dynamics of hepatitis C virus determine broad antibody sensitivity. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2020; 6:eabb5938. [PMID: 32923643 PMCID: PMC7449684 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abb5938] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/05/2020] [Accepted: 07/13/2020] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
Broad antibody sensitivity differences of hepatitis C virus (HCV) isolates and their ability to persist in the presence of neutralizing antibodies (NAbs) remain poorly understood. Here, we show that polymorphisms within glycoprotein E2, including hypervariable region 1 (HVR1) and antigenic site 412 (AS412), broadly affect NAb sensitivity by shifting global envelope protein conformation dynamics between theoretical "closed," neutralization-resistant and "open," neutralization-sensitive states. The conformational space of AS412 was skewed toward β-hairpin-like conformations in closed states, which also depended on HVR1, assigning function to these enigmatic E2 regions. Scavenger receptor class B, type I entry dependency of HCV was associated with NAb resistance and correlated perfectly with decreased virus propensity to interact with HCV co-receptor CD81, indicating that decreased NAb sensitivity resulted in a more complex entry pathway. This link between global E1/E2 states and functionally distinct AS412 conformations has important implications for targeting AS412 in rational HCV vaccine designs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elias H. Augestad
- Copenhagen Hepatitis C Program (CO-HEP), Department of Infectious Diseases, Hvidovre Hospital, and Department of Immunology and Microbiology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, DK-2200 Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Matteo Castelli
- Laboratory of Microbiology and Virology, Università “Vita-Salute” San Raffaele, Milano, 20132, Italy
| | - Nicola Clementi
- Laboratory of Microbiology and Virology, Università “Vita-Salute” San Raffaele, Milano, 20132, Italy
| | - Luisa J. Ströh
- Institute of Virology, Hannover Medical School, Carl-Neuberg-Str. 1, Hannover 30625, Germany
| | - Thomas Krey
- Institute of Virology, Hannover Medical School, Carl-Neuberg-Str. 1, Hannover 30625, Germany
- German Center for Infection Research (DZIF), partner sites Hannover-Braunschweig and Hamburg-Lübeck-Borstel-Riems, Germany
- Center of Structural and Cell Biology in Medicine, Institute of Biochemistry, University of Luebeck, Ratzeburger Allee 160, 23562 Luebeck, Germany
- Cluster of Excellence RESIST (EXC 2155), Hannover Medical School, Carl-Neuberg-Str. 1, 30625 Hannover, Germany
- Centre for Structural Systems Biology (CSSB), Notkestraße 85, 22607 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Roberto Burioni
- Laboratory of Microbiology and Virology, Università “Vita-Salute” San Raffaele, Milano, 20132, Italy
| | - Nicasio Mancini
- Laboratory of Microbiology and Virology, Università “Vita-Salute” San Raffaele, Milano, 20132, Italy
| | - Jens Bukh
- Copenhagen Hepatitis C Program (CO-HEP), Department of Infectious Diseases, Hvidovre Hospital, and Department of Immunology and Microbiology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, DK-2200 Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Jannick Prentoe
- Copenhagen Hepatitis C Program (CO-HEP), Department of Infectious Diseases, Hvidovre Hospital, and Department of Immunology and Microbiology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, DK-2200 Copenhagen, Denmark
- Corresponding author.
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Alberione MP, Moeller R, Kirui J, Ginkel C, Doepke M, Ströh LJ, Machtens JP, Pietschmann T, Gerold G. Single-nucleotide variants in human CD81 influence hepatitis C virus infection of hepatoma cells. Med Microbiol Immunol 2020; 209:499-514. [PMID: 32322956 PMCID: PMC7176029 DOI: 10.1007/s00430-020-00675-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2019] [Accepted: 04/06/2020] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
An estimated number of 71 million people are living with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection worldwide and 400,000 annual deaths are related to the infection. HCV entry into the hepatocytes is complex and involves several host factors. The tetraspanin human CD81 (hCD81) is one of the four essential entry factors and is composed of one large extracellular loop, one small extracellular loop, four transmembrane domains, one intracellular loop and two intracellular tails. The large extracellular loop interacts with the E2 glycoprotein of HCV. Regions outside the large extracellular loop (backbone) of hCD81 have a critical role in post-binding entry steps and determine susceptibility of hepatocytes to HCV. Here, we investigated the effect of five non-synonymous single-nucleotide variants in the backbone of hCD81 on HCV susceptibility. We generated cell lines that stably express the hCD81 variants and infected the cells using HCV pseudoparticles and cell culture-derived HCV. Our results show that all the tested hCD81 variants support HCV pseudoparticle entry with similar efficiency as wild-type hCD81. In contrast, variants A54V, V211M and M220I are less supportive to cell culture-derived HCV infection. This altered susceptibility is HCV genotype dependent and specifically affected the cell entry step. Our findings identify three hCD81 genetic variants that are impaired in their function as HCV host factors for specific viral genotypes. This study provides additional evidence that genetic host variation contributes to inter-individual differences in HCV infection and outcome.
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Affiliation(s)
- María Pía Alberione
- Institute for Experimental Virology, TWINCORE, Centre for Experimental and Clinical Infection Research, a joint venture between the Medical School Hannover and the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research, Feodor-Lynen-Straße 7, 30625, Hannover, Germany
| | - Rebecca Moeller
- Institute for Experimental Virology, TWINCORE, Centre for Experimental and Clinical Infection Research, a joint venture between the Medical School Hannover and the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research, Feodor-Lynen-Straße 7, 30625, Hannover, Germany
| | - Jared Kirui
- Institute for Experimental Virology, TWINCORE, Centre for Experimental and Clinical Infection Research, a joint venture between the Medical School Hannover and the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research, Feodor-Lynen-Straße 7, 30625, Hannover, Germany
| | - Corinne Ginkel
- Institute for Experimental Virology, TWINCORE, Centre for Experimental and Clinical Infection Research, a joint venture between the Medical School Hannover and the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research, Feodor-Lynen-Straße 7, 30625, Hannover, Germany
| | - Mandy Doepke
- Institute for Experimental Virology, TWINCORE, Centre for Experimental and Clinical Infection Research, a joint venture between the Medical School Hannover and the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research, Feodor-Lynen-Straße 7, 30625, Hannover, Germany
| | - Luisa J Ströh
- Institute of Virology, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
| | - Jan-Philipp Machtens
- Institute of Biological Information Processing (IBI-1), Molekular- und Zellphysiologie, and JARA-HPC, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich, Germany
- Institute of Clinical Pharmacology, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
| | - Thomas Pietschmann
- Institute for Experimental Virology, TWINCORE, Centre for Experimental and Clinical Infection Research, a joint venture between the Medical School Hannover and the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research, Feodor-Lynen-Straße 7, 30625, Hannover, Germany
| | - Gisa Gerold
- Institute for Experimental Virology, TWINCORE, Centre for Experimental and Clinical Infection Research, a joint venture between the Medical School Hannover and the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research, Feodor-Lynen-Straße 7, 30625, Hannover, Germany.
- Department of Clinical Microbiology, Virology and Wallenberg Centre for Molecular Medicine (WCMM), Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden.
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Czarnota A, Offersgaard A, Pihl AF, Prentoe J, Bukh J, Gottwein JM, Bieńkowska-Szewczyk K, Grzyb K. Specific Antibodies Induced by Immunization with Hepatitis B Virus-Like Particles Carrying Hepatitis C Virus Envelope Glycoprotein 2 Epitopes Show Differential Neutralization Efficiency. Vaccines (Basel) 2020; 8:vaccines8020294. [PMID: 32532076 PMCID: PMC7350033 DOI: 10.3390/vaccines8020294] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/23/2020] [Revised: 05/30/2020] [Accepted: 06/06/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection with associated chronic liver diseases is a major health problem worldwide. Here, we designed hepatitis B virus (HBV) small surface antigen (sHBsAg) virus-like particles (VLPs) presenting different epitopes derived from the HCV E2 glycoprotein (residues 412-425, 434-446, 502-520, and 523-535 of isolate H77C). Epitopes were selected based on their amino acid sequence conservation and were previously reported as targets of HCV neutralizing antibodies. Chimeric VLPs obtained in the Leishmania tarentolae expression system, in combination with the adjuvant Addavax, were used to immunize mice. Although all VLPs induced strong humoral responses, only antibodies directed against HCV 412-425 and 523-535 epitopes were able to react with the native E1E2 glycoprotein complexes of different HCV genotypes in ELISA. Neutralization assays against genotype 1-6 cell culture infectious HCV (HCVcc), revealed that only VLPs carrying the 412-425 epitope induced efficient HCV cross-neutralizing antibodies, but with isolate specific variations in efficacy that could not necessarily be explained by differences in epitope sequences. In contrast, antibodies targeting 434-446, 502-520, and 523-535 epitopes were not neutralizing HCVcc, highlighting the importance of conformational antibodies for efficient virus neutralization. Thus, 412-425 remains the most promising linear E2 epitope for further bivalent, rationally designed vaccine research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Czarnota
- Laboratory of Virus Molecular Biology, Intercollegiate Faculty of Biotechnology, University of Gdańsk, 80-309 Gdańsk, Poland; (A.C.); (K.B.-S.)
| | - Anna Offersgaard
- Copenhagen Hepatitis C Program (CO-HEP), Department of Infectious Diseases, Hvidovre Hospital, 2650 Hvidovre, Denmark; (A.O.); (A.F.P.); (J.P.); (J.B.); (J.M.G.)
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, 2200 Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Anne Finne Pihl
- Copenhagen Hepatitis C Program (CO-HEP), Department of Infectious Diseases, Hvidovre Hospital, 2650 Hvidovre, Denmark; (A.O.); (A.F.P.); (J.P.); (J.B.); (J.M.G.)
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, 2200 Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Jannick Prentoe
- Copenhagen Hepatitis C Program (CO-HEP), Department of Infectious Diseases, Hvidovre Hospital, 2650 Hvidovre, Denmark; (A.O.); (A.F.P.); (J.P.); (J.B.); (J.M.G.)
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, 2200 Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Jens Bukh
- Copenhagen Hepatitis C Program (CO-HEP), Department of Infectious Diseases, Hvidovre Hospital, 2650 Hvidovre, Denmark; (A.O.); (A.F.P.); (J.P.); (J.B.); (J.M.G.)
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, 2200 Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Judith Margarete Gottwein
- Copenhagen Hepatitis C Program (CO-HEP), Department of Infectious Diseases, Hvidovre Hospital, 2650 Hvidovre, Denmark; (A.O.); (A.F.P.); (J.P.); (J.B.); (J.M.G.)
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, 2200 Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Krystyna Bieńkowska-Szewczyk
- Laboratory of Virus Molecular Biology, Intercollegiate Faculty of Biotechnology, University of Gdańsk, 80-309 Gdańsk, Poland; (A.C.); (K.B.-S.)
| | - Katarzyna Grzyb
- Laboratory of Virus Molecular Biology, Intercollegiate Faculty of Biotechnology, University of Gdańsk, 80-309 Gdańsk, Poland; (A.C.); (K.B.-S.)
- Correspondence:
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Hsu CS, Liu WL, Li Q, Lowey B, Hertz L, Chao YC, Liang TJ, Chen DS, Kao JH. Hepatitis C virus genotypes 1-3 infections regulate lipogenic signaling and suppress cholesterol biosynthesis in hepatocytes. J Formos Med Assoc 2020; 119:1382-1395. [PMID: 32284164 DOI: 10.1016/j.jfma.2020.03.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/15/2020] [Revised: 03/18/2020] [Accepted: 03/23/2020] [Indexed: 01/14/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Patients with different hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotype infections are associated with varying metabolic disorders. Although alteration of lipid metabolism has been confirmed as a virus-induced metabolic derangement in chronic hepatitis C patients, the impact of various HCV genotypes on hepatic cholesterol metabolism remains elusive. In this study, we thus investigated the HCV genotype-specific lipogenic and cholesterol metabolism profiles in an in vitro cell culture system. METHODS We first conducted HCV cell culture system (HCVcc) assays by infecting Huh7.5.1 cells with multiple infection-competent HCV strains, including the genotype 2a JFH1 and JFH1-based intergenotypic recombinants 1b and 3a. We then examined the expression levels of various lipid and cholesterol-related genes. RESULTS The data showed that infection with individual HCV genotypes exerted unique gene expression regulatory effects on lipoproteins and cholesterol metabolism genes. Of note, all HCV strains suppressed cholesterol biosynthesis in hepatocytes through downregulating the expression of HMG-CoA reductase (HMGCR) and farnesyl-diphosphate farnesyltransferase 1 (FDFT1) - two essential enzymes for cholesterol biosynthesis. These HCV-mediated inhibitory effects could be reversed by treatment with sofosbuvir, a pangenotypic NS5B inhibitor. In addition, overexpression of HCV genotype 1b, 2a or 3a core protein significantly suppressed HMGCR mRNA transcription and translation, thus diminished cellular cholesterol biosynthesis. Nonetheless, the core protein had no effect on FDFT1 expression. CONCLUSION Although HCV infection regulates host lipid metabolism in a genotype-specific manner, its inhibition on hepatocellular cholesterogenic gene expression and total cholesterol biosynthesis is a common effect among HCV genotype 1b, 2a and 3a.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ching-Sheng Hsu
- Liver Diseases Research Center, Taipei Tzu Chi Hospital, Buddhist Tzu Chi Medical Foundation, New Taipei, Taiwan; School of Post-Baccalaureate Chinese Medicine, Tzu Chi University, Hualien, Taiwan; Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Internal Medicine, Taipei Tzu Chi Hospital, Buddhist Tzu Chi Medical Foundation, New Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Wei-Liang Liu
- National Mosquito-Borne Diseases Control Research Center, National Health Research Institutes, Miaoli, Taiwan; Graduate Institute of Clinical Medicine, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Qisheng Li
- Liver Diseases Branch, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA
| | - Brianna Lowey
- Liver Diseases Branch, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA
| | - Laura Hertz
- Liver Diseases Branch, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA
| | - You-Chen Chao
- Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Internal Medicine, Taipei Tzu Chi Hospital, Buddhist Tzu Chi Medical Foundation, New Taipei, Taiwan
| | - T Jake Liang
- Liver Diseases Branch, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA
| | - Ding-Shinn Chen
- Graduate Institute of Clinical Medicine, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan; Department of Internal Medicine, National Taiwan University College of Medicine and National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan; Genomics Research Center, Academia Sinica, Nankang, 11549, Taiwan
| | - Jia-Horng Kao
- National Mosquito-Borne Diseases Control Research Center, National Health Research Institutes, Miaoli, Taiwan; Department of Internal Medicine, National Taiwan University College of Medicine and National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan; Department of Medical Research, National Taiwan University College of Medicine and National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan; Hepatitis Research Center, National Taiwan University College of Medicine and National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.
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Duncan JD, Urbanowicz RA, Tarr AW, Ball JK. Hepatitis C Virus Vaccine: Challenges and Prospects. Vaccines (Basel) 2020; 8:vaccines8010090. [PMID: 32079254 PMCID: PMC7157504 DOI: 10.3390/vaccines8010090] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/30/2019] [Revised: 01/25/2020] [Accepted: 02/04/2020] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
The hepatitis C virus (HCV) causes both acute and chronic infection and continues to be a global problem despite advances in antiviral therapeutics. Current treatments fail to prevent reinfection and remain expensive, limiting their use to developed countries, and the asymptomatic nature of acute infection can result in individuals not receiving treatment and unknowingly spreading HCV. A prophylactic vaccine is therefore needed to control this virus. Thirty years since the discovery of HCV, there have been major gains in understanding the molecular biology and elucidating the immunological mechanisms that underpin spontaneous viral clearance, aiding rational vaccine design. This review discusses the challenges facing HCV vaccine design and the most recent and promising candidates being investigated.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joshua D. Duncan
- School of Life Sciences, The University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG7 2UH, UK; (R.A.U.); (A.W.T.); (J.K.B.)
- NIHR Nottingham BRC, Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust and the University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG7 2UH, UK
- Nottingham Digestive Diseases Centre, School of Medicine, University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG7 2UH, UK
- Correspondence:
| | - Richard A. Urbanowicz
- School of Life Sciences, The University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG7 2UH, UK; (R.A.U.); (A.W.T.); (J.K.B.)
- NIHR Nottingham BRC, Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust and the University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG7 2UH, UK
- Nottingham Digestive Diseases Centre, School of Medicine, University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG7 2UH, UK
| | - Alexander W. Tarr
- School of Life Sciences, The University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG7 2UH, UK; (R.A.U.); (A.W.T.); (J.K.B.)
- NIHR Nottingham BRC, Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust and the University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG7 2UH, UK
- Nottingham Digestive Diseases Centre, School of Medicine, University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG7 2UH, UK
| | - Jonathan K. Ball
- School of Life Sciences, The University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG7 2UH, UK; (R.A.U.); (A.W.T.); (J.K.B.)
- NIHR Nottingham BRC, Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust and the University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG7 2UH, UK
- Nottingham Digestive Diseases Centre, School of Medicine, University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG7 2UH, UK
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Vigón L, Vázquez-Morón S, Berenguer J, González-García J, Jiménez-Sousa MÁ, Guardiola JM, Crespo M, de Los Santos I, Von Wichmann MA, Carrero A, Yélamos MB, Gómez J, Resino S, Martínez I. Rapid decrease in titer and breadth of neutralizing anti-HCV antibodies in HIV/HCV-coinfected patients who achieved SVR. Sci Rep 2019; 9:12163. [PMID: 31434968 PMCID: PMC6704069 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-48592-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2018] [Accepted: 08/08/2019] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
The main targets for neutralizing anti-hepatitis C virus (HCV) antibodies (HCV-nAbs) are the E1 and E2 envelope glycoproteins. We have studied the characteristics of HCV-nAbs through a retrospective study involving 29 HIV/HCV-coinfected patients who achieved sustained virological response (SVR) with peg-IFNα + ribavirin anti-HCV therapy. Plasma samples at baseline and week 24 after SVR were used to perform neutralization assays against five JFH1-based HCV recombinant viruses coding for E1 and E2 from genotypes 1a (H77), 1b (J4), 2a (JFH1), 3a (S52) and 4a (ED43). At baseline, the majority of plasma samples neutralized 1a, 1b, 2a, and 4a, but not 3a, genotypes. Twenty-four weeks following SVR, most neutralizing titers declined substantially. Furthermore, titers against 3a and 2a were not detected in many patients. Plasma samples with high HCV-nAb titers neutralized all genotypes, and the highest titers at the starting point correlated with the highest titers at week 24 after SVR. In conclusion, high titers of broad-spectrum HCV-nAbs were detected in HIV/HCV-coinfected individuals, however, those titers declined soon after SVR.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lorena Vigón
- Unidad de Infección Viral e Inmunidad, Centro Nacional de Microbiología, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Majadahonda, Madrid, Spain
| | - Sonia Vázquez-Morón
- Unidad de Infección Viral e Inmunidad, Centro Nacional de Microbiología, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Majadahonda, Madrid, Spain
| | - Juan Berenguer
- Unidad de Enfermedades Infecciosas/VIH; Hospital General Universitario "Gregorio Marañón", Madrid, Spain.,Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria del Gregorio Marañón, Madrid, Spain
| | - Juan González-García
- Unidad de VIH, Servicio de Medicina Interna, Hospital Universitario "La Paz", Madrid, Spain
| | - Ma Ángeles Jiménez-Sousa
- Unidad de Infección Viral e Inmunidad, Centro Nacional de Microbiología, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Majadahonda, Madrid, Spain
| | | | | | | | | | - Ana Carrero
- Unidad de Enfermedades Infecciosas/VIH; Hospital General Universitario "Gregorio Marañón", Madrid, Spain.,Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria del Gregorio Marañón, Madrid, Spain
| | - María Belén Yélamos
- Departamento de Bioquímica y Biología Molecular, Facultad de Ciencias Químicas, Universidad Complutense, Madrid, Spain
| | - Julián Gómez
- Departamento de Bioquímica y Biología Molecular, Facultad de Ciencias Químicas, Universidad Complutense, Madrid, Spain
| | - Salvador Resino
- Unidad de Infección Viral e Inmunidad, Centro Nacional de Microbiología, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Majadahonda, Madrid, Spain.
| | - Isidoro Martínez
- Unidad de Infección Viral e Inmunidad, Centro Nacional de Microbiología, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Majadahonda, Madrid, Spain.
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Pol S, Lagaye S. The remarkable history of the hepatitis C virus. Microbes Infect 2019; 21:263-270. [PMID: 31295571 DOI: 10.1016/j.micinf.2019.06.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2019] [Revised: 03/25/2019] [Accepted: 04/01/2019] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
The infection with the hepatitis C virus (HCV) is an example of the translational research success. The reciprocal interactions between clinicians and scientists have allowed in 30 years the initiation of empirical treatments by interferon, the discovery of the virus, the development of serological and virological tools for diagnosis but also for prognosis (the non-invasive biochemical or morphological fibrosis tests, the predictors of the specific immune response including genetic IL28B polymorphisms). Finally, well-tolerated and effective treatments with oral antivirals inhibiting HCV non-structural viral proteins involved in viral replication have been marketed this last decade, allowing the cure of all infected subjects. HCV chronic infection, which is a public health issue, is a hepatic disease which may lead to a cirrhosis and an hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) but also a systemic disease with extra-hepatic manifestations either associated with a cryoglobulinemic vasculitis or chronic inflammation. The HCV infection is the only chronic viral infection which may be cured: the so-called sustained virologic response, defined by undetectable HCV RNA 12 weeks after the end of the treatment, significantly reduces the risk of morbidity and mortality associated with hepatic and extra-hepatic manifestations which are mainly reversible. The history of HCV ends with the pangenotypic efficacy of the multiple combinations, easy to use for 8-12 weeks with one to three pills per day and little problems of tolerance. This explains the short 30 years from the virus discovery to the viral hepatitis elimination policy proposed by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2016.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stanislas Pol
- Université Paris Descartes, Paris, France; Département d'Hépatologie, Hôpital Cochin, APHP, Paris, France; INSERM UMS-20, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France; Immunobiologie des Cellules Dendritiques, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France; INSERM U1223, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France.
| | - Sylvie Lagaye
- Immunobiologie des Cellules Dendritiques, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France; INSERM U1223, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France.
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Broadly Neutralizing Antibodies Targeting New Sites of Vulnerability in Hepatitis C Virus E1E2. J Virol 2019; 93:JVI.02070-18. [PMID: 31068427 DOI: 10.1128/jvi.02070-18] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/21/2018] [Accepted: 05/01/2019] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Increasing evidence indicates that broadly neutralizing antibodies (bNAbs) play an important role in immune-mediated control of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, but the relative contribution of neutralizing antibodies targeting antigenic sites across the HCV envelope (E1 and E2) proteins is unclear. Here, we isolated thirteen E1E2-specific monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) from B cells of a single HCV-infected individual who cleared one genotype 1a infection and then became persistently infected with a second genotype 1a strain. These MAbs bound six distinct discontinuous antigenic sites on the E1 protein, the E2 protein, or the E1E2 heterodimer. Three antigenic sites, designated AS108, AS112 (an N-terminal E1 site), and AS146, were distinct from previously described antigenic regions (ARs) 1 to 5 and E1 sites. Antibodies targeting four sites (AR3, AR4-5, AS108, and AS146) were broadly neutralizing. These MAbs also displayed distinct patterns of relative neutralizing potency (i.e., neutralization profiles) across a panel of diverse HCV strains, which led to complementary neutralizing breadth when they were tested in combination. Overall, this study demonstrates that HCV bNAb epitopes are not restricted to previously described antigenic sites, expanding the number of sites that could be targeted for vaccine development.IMPORTANCE Worldwide, more than 70 million people are infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV), which is a leading cause of hepatocellular carcinoma and liver transplantation. Despite the development of potent direct acting antivirals (DAAs) for HCV treatment, a vaccine is urgently needed due to the high cost of treatment and the possibility of reinfection after cure. Induction of multiple broadly neutralizing antibodies (bNAbs) that target distinct epitopes on the HCV envelope proteins is one approach to vaccine development. However, antigenic sites targeted by bNAbs in individuals with spontaneous control of HCV have not been fully defined. In this study, we characterize 13 monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) from a single person who cleared an HCV infection without treatment, and we identify 3 new sites targeted by neutralizing antibodies. The sites targeted by these MAbs could inform HCV vaccine development.
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Keck ZY, Pierce BG, Lau P, Lu J, Wang Y, Underwood A, Bull RA, Prentoe J, Velázquez-Moctezuma R, Walker MR, Luciani F, Guest JD, Fauvelle C, Baumert TF, Bukh J, Lloyd AR, Foung SKH. Broadly neutralizing antibodies from an individual that naturally cleared multiple hepatitis C virus infections uncover molecular determinants for E2 targeting and vaccine design. PLoS Pathog 2019; 15:e1007772. [PMID: 31100098 PMCID: PMC6542541 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1007772] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2018] [Revised: 05/30/2019] [Accepted: 04/20/2019] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Cumulative evidence supports a role for neutralizing antibodies contributing to spontaneous viral clearance during acute hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. Information on the timing and specificity of the B cell response associated with clearance is crucial to inform vaccine design. From an individual who cleared three sequential HCV infections with genotypes 1b, 1a and 3a strains, respectively, we employed peripheral B cells to isolate and characterize neutralizing human monoclonal antibodies (HMAbs) to HCV after the genotype 1 infections. The majority of isolated antibodies, designated as HMAbs 212, target conformational epitopes on the envelope glycoprotein E2 and bound broadly to genotype 1–6 E1E2 proteins. Further, some of these antibodies showed neutralization potential against cultured genotype 1–6 viruses. Competition studies with defined broadly neutralizing HCV HMAbs to epitopes in distinct clusters, designated antigenic domains B, C, D and E, revealed that the selected HMAbs compete with B, C and D HMAbs, previously isolated from subjects with chronic HCV infections. Epitope mapping studies revealed domain B and C specificity of these HMAbs 212. Sequential serum samples from the studied subject inhibited the binding of HMAbs 212 to autologous E2 and blocked a representative domain D HMAb. The specificity of this antibody response appears similar to that observed during chronic infection, suggesting that the timing and affinity maturation of the antibody response are the critical determinants in successful and repeated viral clearance. While additional studies should be performed for individuals with clearance or persistence of HCV, our results define epitope determinants for antibody E2 targeting with important implications for the development of a B cell vaccine. Studies of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infected individuals spontaneously clearing acute infections provide an opportunity to characterize the specificities of associated protective antibody responses. In an individual who resolved three separate HCV infections with different HCV genotypes, the antibodies induced during these acute infection episodes were similar to those induced during chronic infection. Surprisingly, the earliest detected antibodies were directed against conformational HCV epitopes on the envelope glycoprotein E2 (including polyprotein residues 434–446) known to be targeted by broadly neutralizing antibodies. Taken together, the key B-cell determinants in spontaneous clearance are the timing and affinity maturation of broadly neutralizing antibody responses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhen-Yong Keck
- Department of Pathology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California, United States of America
| | - Brian G. Pierce
- University of Maryland Institute for Bioscience and Biotechnology Research, Rockville, Maryland, United States of America
- Department of Cell Biology and Molecular Genetics, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, United States of America
| | - Patrick Lau
- Department of Pathology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California, United States of America
| | - Janine Lu
- Department of Pathology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California, United States of America
| | - Yong Wang
- Department of Pathology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California, United States of America
| | - Alexander Underwood
- Viral Immunology Systems Program, The Kirby Institute and School of Medical Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Rowena A. Bull
- Viral Immunology Systems Program, The Kirby Institute and School of Medical Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Jannick Prentoe
- Copenhagen Hepatitis C Program (CO-HEP), Department of Infectious Diseases, Hvidovre Hospital and Department of Immunology and Microbiology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Rodrigo Velázquez-Moctezuma
- Copenhagen Hepatitis C Program (CO-HEP), Department of Infectious Diseases, Hvidovre Hospital and Department of Immunology and Microbiology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Melanie R. Walker
- Viral Immunology Systems Program, The Kirby Institute and School of Medical Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Fabio Luciani
- Viral Immunology Systems Program, The Kirby Institute and School of Medical Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Johnathan D. Guest
- University of Maryland Institute for Bioscience and Biotechnology Research, Rockville, Maryland, United States of America
- Department of Cell Biology and Molecular Genetics, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, United States of America
| | - Catherine Fauvelle
- Inserm U1110, Institut de Recherche sur les Maladies et Hépatiques, Strasbourg, France
- Université de Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France
| | - Thomas F. Baumert
- Inserm U1110, Institut de Recherche sur les Maladies et Hépatiques, Strasbourg, France
- Université de Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France
- Pole Hépato-digestif, Institut Hospitalo-Universitaire, Hopitaux Universitaires de Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France
| | - Jens Bukh
- Copenhagen Hepatitis C Program (CO-HEP), Department of Infectious Diseases, Hvidovre Hospital and Department of Immunology and Microbiology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Andrew R. Lloyd
- Viral Immunology Systems Program, The Kirby Institute and School of Medical Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Steven K. H. Foung
- Department of Pathology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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42
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Pol S, Lagaye S. The remarkable history of the hepatitis C virus. Genes Immun 2019; 20:436-446. [PMID: 31019253 DOI: 10.1038/s41435-019-0066-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2019] [Revised: 03/25/2019] [Accepted: 04/01/2019] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
The infection with the hepatitis C virus (HCV) is an example of the translational research success. The reciprocal interactions between clinicians and scientists have allowed in 30 years the initiation of empirical treatments by interferon, the discovery of the virus, the development of serological and virological tools for diagnosis but also for prognosis (the non-invasive biochemical or morphological fibrosis tests, the predictors of the specific immune response including genetic IL28B polymorphisms). Finally, well-tolerated and effective treatments with oral antivirals inhibiting HCV non-structural viral proteins involved in viral replication have been marketed this last decade, allowing the cure of all infected subjects. HCV chronic infection, which is a public health issue, is a hepatic disease, which may lead to a cirrhosis and an hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) but also a systemic disease with extra-hepatic manifestations either associated with a cryoglobulinemic vasculitis or chronic inflammation. The HCV infection is the only chronic viral infection, which may be cured: the so-called sustained virologic response, defined by undetectable HCV RNA 12 weeks after the end of the treatment, significantly reduces the risk of morbidity and mortality associated with hepatic and extra-hepatic manifestations, which are mainly reversible. The history of HCV ends with the pangenotypic efficacy of the multiple combinations, easy to use for 8-12 weeks with one to three pills per day and little problems of tolerance. This explains the short 30 years from the virus discovery to the viral hepatitis elimination policy proposed by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2016.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stanislas Pol
- Université Paris Descartes, Paris, France. .,Département d'Hépatologie, Hôpital Cochin, APHP, Paris, France. .,INSERM UMS-20, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France. .,Immunobiologie des Cellules Dendritiques, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France. .,INSERM U1223, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France.
| | - Sylvie Lagaye
- Immunobiologie des Cellules Dendritiques, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France. .,INSERM U1223, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France.
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43
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Tzarum N, Giang E, Kong L, He L, Prentoe J, Augestad E, Hua Y, Castillo S, Lauer GM, Bukh J, Zhu J, Wilson IA, Law M. Genetic and structural insights into broad neutralization of hepatitis C virus by human V H1-69 antibodies. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2019; 5:eaav1882. [PMID: 30613781 PMCID: PMC6314831 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aav1882] [Citation(s) in RCA: 65] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/22/2018] [Accepted: 11/27/2018] [Indexed: 05/19/2023]
Abstract
An effective vaccine to the antigenically diverse hepatitis C virus (HCV) must target conserved immune epitopes. Here, we investigate cross-neutralization of HCV genotypes by broadly neutralizing antibodies (bNAbs) encoded by the relatively abundant human gene family V H 1-69. We have deciphered the molecular requirements for cross-neutralization by this unique class of human antibodies from crystal structures of HCV E2 in complex with bNAbs. An unusually high binding affinity is found for germ line-reverted versions of VH1-69 precursor antibodies, and neutralization breadth is acquired during affinity maturation. Deep sequencing analysis of an HCV-immune B cell repertoire further demonstrates the importance of the V H 1-69 gene family in the generation of HCV bNAbs. This study therefore provides critical insights into immune recognition of HCV with important implications for rational vaccine design.
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Affiliation(s)
- Netanel Tzarum
- Department of Integrative Structural and Computational Biology, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA
| | - Erick Giang
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA
| | - Leopold Kong
- Department of Integrative Structural and Computational Biology, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA
| | - Linling He
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA
| | - Jannick Prentoe
- Copenhagen Hepatitis C Program (CO-HEP), Department of Infectious Diseases, Hvidovre Hospital, and Department of Immunology and Microbiology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Elias Augestad
- Copenhagen Hepatitis C Program (CO-HEP), Department of Infectious Diseases, Hvidovre Hospital, and Department of Immunology and Microbiology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Yuanzi Hua
- Department of Integrative Structural and Computational Biology, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA
| | - Shaun Castillo
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA
| | - Georg M. Lauer
- Gastrointestinal Unit and Liver Center, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA
| | - Jens Bukh
- Copenhagen Hepatitis C Program (CO-HEP), Department of Infectious Diseases, Hvidovre Hospital, and Department of Immunology and Microbiology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Jiang Zhu
- Department of Integrative Structural and Computational Biology, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA
| | - Ian A. Wilson
- Department of Integrative Structural and Computational Biology, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA
- Skaggs Institute for Chemical Biology, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA
| | - Mansun Law
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA
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Wang X, Yan Y, Gan T, Yang X, Li D, Zhou D, Sun Q, Huang Z, Zhong J. A trivalent HCV vaccine elicits broad and synergistic polyclonal antibody response in mice and rhesus monkey. Gut 2019; 68:140-149. [PMID: 29180585 DOI: 10.1136/gutjnl-2017-314870] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/17/2017] [Revised: 10/26/2017] [Accepted: 11/11/2017] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Despite the development of highly effective direct-acting antivirals, a prophylactic vaccine is needed for eradicating HCV. A major hurdle of HCV vaccine development is to induce immunity against HCV with high genome diversity. We previously demonstrated that a soluble E2 (sE2) expressed from insect cells induces broadly neutralising antibodies (NAbs) and prevents HCV infection. The objective of this study is to develop a multivalent HCV vaccine to increase the antigenic coverage. DESIGN We designed a trivalent vaccine containing sE2 from genotype 1a, 1b and 3a. Mice and rhesus macaques were immunised with monovalent or trivalent sE2 vaccine, and sera or purified immunoglobulin were assessed for neutralisation against a panel of cell culture-derived virion (HCVcc) of genotype 1-7 in cell culture. Splenocytes from the vaccinated macaques were assessed for HCV-specific T cell response. RESULTS We showed that the trivalent vaccine elicited pangenotypic NAbs in mice, which neutralised HCVcc of all the seven genotypes more potently than the monovalent vaccine. Further analyses demonstrated that each sE2 component of this trivalent vaccine elicited unique spectrum of NAbs which acted synergistically to inhibit HCV infection. Finally, the trivalent vaccine triggered stronger and more uniform multigenotypic neutralising antibody response than the monovalent vaccine in rhesus macaques. CONCLUSIONS In summary, we developed a trivalent HCV vaccine that induces broad and synergistic-acting neutralising antibodies in mice and non-human primates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xuesong Wang
- Unit of Viral Hepatitis, Institut Pasteur of Shanghai, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China.,Unit of Vaccinology and Antiviral Strategies, Institut Pasteur of Shanghai, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China.,University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Yu Yan
- Unit of Viral Hepatitis, Institut Pasteur of Shanghai, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China.,University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Tianyu Gan
- Unit of Viral Hepatitis, Institut Pasteur of Shanghai, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China.,University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Xi Yang
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.,Vaccine Research Center, CAS Key Laboratory of Molecular Virology and Immunology, Institut Pasteur of Shanghai, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China
| | - Dapeng Li
- Unit of Viral Hepatitis, Institut Pasteur of Shanghai, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China.,Unit of Vaccinology and Antiviral Strategies, Institut Pasteur of Shanghai, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China.,University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Dongming Zhou
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.,Vaccine Research Center, CAS Key Laboratory of Molecular Virology and Immunology, Institut Pasteur of Shanghai, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China
| | - Qiang Sun
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.,Suzhou Non-human Primate Facility, Institute of Neuroscience, State Key Laboratory of Neuroscience, Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China
| | - Zhong Huang
- Unit of Vaccinology and Antiviral Strategies, Institut Pasteur of Shanghai, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China.,University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Jin Zhong
- Unit of Viral Hepatitis, Institut Pasteur of Shanghai, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China.,University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
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45
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Bailey JR, Barnes E, Cox AL. Approaches, Progress, and Challenges to Hepatitis C Vaccine Development. Gastroenterology 2019; 156:418-430. [PMID: 30268785 PMCID: PMC6340767 DOI: 10.1053/j.gastro.2018.08.060] [Citation(s) in RCA: 151] [Impact Index Per Article: 30.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/15/2018] [Revised: 08/12/2018] [Accepted: 08/14/2018] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Risk factors for hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection vary, and there were an estimated 1.75 million new cases worldwide in 2015. The World Health Organization aims for a 90% reduction in new HCV infections by 2030. An HCV vaccine would prevent transmission, regardless of risk factors, and significantly reduce the global burden of HCV-associated disease. Barriers to development include virus diversity, limited models for testing vaccines, and our incomplete understanding of protective immune responses. Although highly effective vaccines could prevent infection altogether, immune responses that increase the rate of HCV clearance and prevent chronic infection may be sufficient to reduce disease burden. Adjuvant envelope or core protein and virus-vectored nonstructural antigen vaccines have been tested in healthy volunteers who are not at risk for HCV infection; viral vectors encoding nonstructural proteins are the only vaccine strategy to be tested in at-risk individuals. Despite development challenges, a prophylactic vaccine is necessary for global control of HCV.
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Affiliation(s)
- Justin R. Bailey
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Eleanor Barnes
- Peter Medawar Building for Pathogen Research, Nuffield Department of Medicine and the Oxford NIHR Biomedical Research Centre, Oxford University, UK
| | - Andrea L. Cox
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland,Reprint requests Address requests for reprints to: Andrea L. Cox, MD, PhD, Division of Infectious Diseases, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, 551 Rangos Building, 855 N Wolfe Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21205. fax: (443)769-1221.
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46
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Similarities and Differences Between HCV Pseudoparticle (HCVpp) and Cell Culture HCV (HCVcc) in the Study of HCV. Methods Mol Biol 2019; 1911:33-45. [PMID: 30593616 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4939-8976-8_2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
For a long time, the study of the HCV infectious cycle has been a major challenge for researchers because of the difficulties in generating an efficient cell culture system leading to a productive viral infection. The development of HCVpp and later on HCVcc model allowing for functional studies of HCV in cell culture completely revolutionized HCV research. The aim of this review is to provide the reader with a brief overview of the development of these two models. We describe the advantages of each model as well as their limitations in the study of the HCV life cycle, with a particular emphasis on virus entry. A comparison between these two models is presented in terms of virion composition and their use as tools for the characterization of entry factors, envelope glycoprotein functions, and antibody neutralization. We also compare the production and biosafety level of these two types of viral particles. Globally, this review provides a general description of the most adequate applications for HCVpp and HCVcc in HCV research.
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47
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Abstract
The method outlined here enables evaluation of the neutralization potency of monoclonal and polyclonal antibodies against in vitro cultured hepatitis C virus (HCV). The high variation in envelope protein sequence among HCV isolates necessitates the inclusion of several isolates, spanning the major genotypes of HCV, in order to make strong conclusions concerning the cross-reactive neutralization potential of a given antibody. This would be particularly relevant for any neutralization experiments aimed at uncovering novel therapeutic- or vaccine-relevant antibodies. In addition, these assays can also be used to compare neutralization sensitivity of novel cultured HCV to that of previously characterized isolates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jannick Prentoe
- Copenhagen Hepatitis C Program (CO-HEP), Department of Infectious Diseases, Hvidovre Hospital, Hvidovre, Denmark.,Department of Immunology and Microbiology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Jens Bukh
- Copenhagen Hepatitis C Program (CO-HEP), Department of Infectious Diseases, Hvidovre Hospital, Hvidovre, Denmark. .,Department of Immunology and Microbiology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
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48
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Eliyahu S, Sharabi O, Elmedvi S, Timor R, Davidovich A, Vigneault F, Clouser C, Hope R, Nimer A, Braun M, Weiss YY, Polak P, Yaari G, Gal-Tanamy M. Antibody Repertoire Analysis of Hepatitis C Virus Infections Identifies Immune Signatures Associated With Spontaneous Clearance. Front Immunol 2018; 9:3004. [PMID: 30622532 PMCID: PMC6308210 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2018.03004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2018] [Accepted: 12/05/2018] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a major public health concern, with over 70 million people infected worldwide, who are at risk for developing life-threatening liver disease. No vaccine is available, and immunity against the virus is not well-understood. Following the acute stage, HCV usually causes chronic infections. However, ~30% of infected individuals spontaneously clear the virus. Therefore, using HCV as a model for comparing immune responses between spontaneous clearer (SC) and chronically infected (CI) individuals may empower the identification of mechanisms governing viral infection outcomes. Here, we provide the first in-depth analysis of adaptive immune receptor repertoires in individuals with current or past HCV infection. We demonstrate that SC individuals, in contrast to CI patients, develop clusters of antibodies with distinct properties. These antibodies' characteristics were used in a machine learning framework to accurately predict infection outcome. Using combinatorial antibody phage display library technology, we identified HCV-specific antibody sequences. By integrating these data with the repertoire analysis, we constructed two antibodies characterized by high neutralization breadth, which are associated with clearance. This study provides insight into the nature of effective immune response against HCV and demonstrates an innovative approach for constructing antibodies correlating with successful infection clearance. It may have clinical implications for prognosis of the future status of infection, and the design of effective immunotherapies and a vaccine for HCV.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sivan Eliyahu
- Molecular Virology Lab, The Azrieli Faculty of Medicine, Bar-Ilan University, Safed, Israel
| | - Oz Sharabi
- Bioengineering, Faculty of Engineering, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel
| | - Shiri Elmedvi
- Molecular Virology Lab, The Azrieli Faculty of Medicine, Bar-Ilan University, Safed, Israel
| | - Reut Timor
- Bioengineering, Faculty of Engineering, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel
| | - Ateret Davidovich
- Molecular Virology Lab, The Azrieli Faculty of Medicine, Bar-Ilan University, Safed, Israel
| | | | | | - Ronen Hope
- Bioengineering, Faculty of Engineering, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel
| | - Assy Nimer
- Internal Medicine Department A, Western Galilee Medical Center, Naharyia and Faculty of Medicine in the Galilee, Bar-Ilan University, Safed, Israel
| | - Marius Braun
- Liver Institute, Rabin Medical Center, Sackler School of Medicine, Tel-Aviv University, Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel
| | - Yaacov Y Weiss
- Bioengineering, Faculty of Engineering, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel
| | - Pazit Polak
- Bioengineering, Faculty of Engineering, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel
| | - Gur Yaari
- Bioengineering, Faculty of Engineering, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel
| | - Meital Gal-Tanamy
- Molecular Virology Lab, The Azrieli Faculty of Medicine, Bar-Ilan University, Safed, Israel
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49
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Chen M, Zheng F, Yuan G, Duan X, Rong L, Liu J, Feng S, Wang Z, Wang M, Feng Y, Zhou Q, Li J, Deng K, Li C, Xia J, Rao G, Zhou Y, Fu Y, Li YP. Development of an Infectious Cell Culture System for Hepatitis C Virus Genotype 6a Clinical Isolate Using a Novel Strategy and Its Sensitivity to Direct-Acting Antivirals. Front Microbiol 2018; 9:2950. [PMID: 30564209 PMCID: PMC6288186 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2018.02950] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/18/2018] [Accepted: 11/16/2018] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is classified into seven major genotypes, and genotype 6 is commonly prevalent in Asia, thus reverse genetic system representing genotype 6 isolates in prevalence is required. Here, we developed an infectious clone for a Chinese HCV 6a isolate (CH6a) using a novel strategy. We determined CH6a consensus sequence from patient serum and assembled a CH6a full-length (CH6aFL) cDNA using overlapped PCR product-derived clones that shared the highest homology with the consensus. CH6aFL was non-infectious in hepatoma Huh7.5 cells. Next, we constructed recombinants containing Core-NS5A or 5′UTR-NS5A from CH6a and the remaining sequences from JFH1 (genotype 2a), and both were engineered with 7 mutations identified previously. However, they replicated inefficiently without virus spread in Huh7.5 cells. Addition of adaptive mutations from CH6a Core-NS2 recombinant, with JFH1 5′UTR and NS3-3′UTR, enhanced the viability of Core-NS5A recombinant and acquired replication-enhancing mutations. Combination of 22 mutations in CH6a recombinant with JFH1 5′UTR and 3′UTR (CH6aORF) enabled virus replication and recovered additional four mutations. Adding these four mutations, we generated two efficient recombinants containing 26 mutations (26m), CH6aORF_26m and CH6aFL_26m (designated “CH6acc”), releasing HCV of 104.3–104.5 focus-forming units (FFU)/ml in Huh7.5.1-VISI-mCherry and Huh7.5 cells. Seven newly identified mutations were important for HCV replication, assembly, and release. The CH6aORF_26m virus was inhibited in a dose- and genotype-dependent manner by direct-acting-antivirals targeting NS3/4A, NS5A, and NS5B. The CH6acc enriches the toolbox of HCV culture systems, and the strategy and mutations applied here will facilitate the culture development of other HCV isolates and related viruses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mingxiao Chen
- Institute of Human Virology and Zhongshan School of Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China.,Key Laboratory of Tropical Disease Control of Ministry of Education, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Fuxiang Zheng
- Institute of Human Virology and Zhongshan School of Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China.,Key Laboratory of Tropical Disease Control of Ministry of Education, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Guosheng Yuan
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Xiaobing Duan
- Institute of Human Virology and Zhongshan School of Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China.,Key Laboratory of Tropical Disease Control of Ministry of Education, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Liang Rong
- Institute of Human Virology and Zhongshan School of Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China.,Key Laboratory of Tropical Disease Control of Ministry of Education, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Junwei Liu
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Shengjun Feng
- Institute of Human Virology and Zhongshan School of Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China.,Key Laboratory of Tropical Disease Control of Ministry of Education, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Ziting Wang
- Institute of Human Virology and Zhongshan School of Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China.,Key Laboratory of Tropical Disease Control of Ministry of Education, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Min Wang
- Guangzhou Blood Center, Guangzhou, China
| | - Yetong Feng
- Institute of Human Virology and Zhongshan School of Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China.,Key Laboratory of Tropical Disease Control of Ministry of Education, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Qing Zhou
- Institute of Human Virology and Zhongshan School of Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China.,Key Laboratory of Tropical Disease Control of Ministry of Education, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Jinqian Li
- Institute of Human Virology and Zhongshan School of Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China.,Key Laboratory of Tropical Disease Control of Ministry of Education, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Kai Deng
- Institute of Human Virology and Zhongshan School of Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China.,Key Laboratory of Tropical Disease Control of Ministry of Education, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Chunna Li
- Program of Pathobiology, The Fifth Affiliated Hospital and Zhongshan School of Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangdong, China
| | - Jinyu Xia
- Program of Pathobiology, The Fifth Affiliated Hospital and Zhongshan School of Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangdong, China
| | - Guirong Rao
- Key Laboratory of Liver Disease, Center of Infectious Diseases, PLA 458 Hospital, Guangzhou, China
| | - Yuanping Zhou
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China
| | | | - Yi-Ping Li
- Institute of Human Virology and Zhongshan School of Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China.,Key Laboratory of Tropical Disease Control of Ministry of Education, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China.,Program of Pathobiology, The Fifth Affiliated Hospital and Zhongshan School of Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangdong, China
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50
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Pihl AF, Offersgaard AF, Mathiesen CK, Prentoe J, Fahnøe U, Krarup H, Bukh J, Gottwein JM. High density Huh7.5 cell hollow fiber bioreactor culture for high-yield production of hepatitis C virus and studies of antivirals. Sci Rep 2018; 8:17505. [PMID: 30504788 PMCID: PMC6269495 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-35010-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2018] [Accepted: 09/26/2018] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection poses a serious global public health burden. Despite the recent development of effective treatments there is a large unmet need for a prophylactic vaccine. Further, antiviral resistance might compromise treatment efficiency in the future. HCV cell culture systems are typically based on Huh7 and derived hepatoma cell lines cultured in monolayers. However, efficient high cell density culture systems for high-yield HCV production and studies of antivirals are lacking. We established a system based on Huh7.5 cells cultured in a hollow fiber bioreactor in the presence or absence of bovine serum. Using an adapted chimeric genotype 5a virus, we achieved peak HCV infectivity and RNA titers of 7.6 log10 FFU/mL and 10.4 log10 IU/mL, respectively. Bioreactor derived HCV showed high genetic stability, as well as buoyant density, sensitivity to neutralizing antibodies AR3A and AR4A, and dependency on HCV co-receptors CD81 and SR-BI comparable to that of HCV produced in monolayer cell cultures. Using the bioreactor platform, treatment with the NS5A inhibitor daclatasvir resulted in HCV escape mediated by the NS5A resistance substitution Y93H. In conclusion, we established an efficient high cell density HCV culture system with implications for studies of antivirals and vaccine development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anne F Pihl
- Copenhagen Hepatitis C Program (CO-HEP), Department of Infectious Diseases, Hvidovre Hospital and Department of Immunology and Microbiology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Anna F Offersgaard
- Copenhagen Hepatitis C Program (CO-HEP), Department of Infectious Diseases, Hvidovre Hospital and Department of Immunology and Microbiology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Christian K Mathiesen
- Copenhagen Hepatitis C Program (CO-HEP), Department of Infectious Diseases, Hvidovre Hospital and Department of Immunology and Microbiology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Jannick Prentoe
- Copenhagen Hepatitis C Program (CO-HEP), Department of Infectious Diseases, Hvidovre Hospital and Department of Immunology and Microbiology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Ulrik Fahnøe
- Copenhagen Hepatitis C Program (CO-HEP), Department of Infectious Diseases, Hvidovre Hospital and Department of Immunology and Microbiology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Henrik Krarup
- Section of Molecular Diagnostics, Clinical Biochemistry, Aalborg University Hospital, Aalborg, Denmark
| | - Jens Bukh
- Copenhagen Hepatitis C Program (CO-HEP), Department of Infectious Diseases, Hvidovre Hospital and Department of Immunology and Microbiology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Judith M Gottwein
- Copenhagen Hepatitis C Program (CO-HEP), Department of Infectious Diseases, Hvidovre Hospital and Department of Immunology and Microbiology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
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